Proven
by Preaching Red
Summary: Darkness fills the heart of the betrayed. So darkness would love nothing more than a hero left for dead by the ones he loved. But can light prevail in a heart so full of darkness? Mewtwo thinks so. With a new tournament on the horizon and a new alias in waiting, Ash sets out to prove that he truly is the best, like no one ever was.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**Well, I'm rewriting chapters to see if it will help with my writers block. So far nothing accomplished except a changed first and second chapter. Well read if you're new, reread if you aren't. You can tell me what you think, especially if you're annoyed with the new chapters**

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Winds swiftly blew the clouds across the night sky. The fleeting masses of vapor an uncharacteristic orange, starkly contrasting the inky black heavens. Stars attempt to shine through the misty atmosphere, but few succeed, adding an eerie backdrop to the night. The scene was dark, depressing… beautiful. And one man refused to let this dark beauty be ignored. The one man, who knew pain like no other, knew betrayal better than Caesar. His name lost amongst the harsh reality of the modern world.

But that was not on his mind now, it hardly ever was. His thoughts were focused on the scenery displayed before him. At this moment it seemed like nothing would ruin the serenity and bliss felt by the man. Until fire pierced the horizon, distorting the nighttime art.

The man growled at the interruption, glaring menacingly at the rising star. As if trying to intimidate it back to the far side of the planet. However, the light climbed higher, blissfully ignorant of the man's death glare. With a sigh of disappointment the man turned around and made his way briskly away from his viewpoint, located on a cliff overlooking a massive valley, with his cloak billowing out behind him.

As the valley faded into memory a cave next to a peaceful stream became the man's new interest. His brisk pace eased as he came to a halt just outside the cave entrance, allowing him to watch the stream trickle quietly down the mountain. The man quickly became mesmerized by the stream's constant flow, lost in memory, until a yellow mouse broke him out of his thoughts

_'Hey, Ash! What are you doing up this early?'_

The man eyed the yellow mouse, which now occupied his shoulder, with indifference. He didn't answer the question, instead opting to gaze up at the royal blue sky.

The mouse nodded solemnly in understanding. Following certain events in his life Ash seemed to become lost in the strangest things. The mouse didn't know what went through the man's head, but he assumed it was thoughts about his shadowy past.

Ash broke the mutual silence with a simple question

"Think it's time to wake the others?"

The mouse nodded, hopping off the man's shoulder, and padding inside the cave. Ash sighed and regarded the sky with one last mournful glance before he followed the mouse into the cave. When he came towards the rear of the cave he noticed that most of his Pokémon were already awake, stretching their muscles, trying to loosen the stiffness of slumber. Ash grabbed the remaining red and white orbs and released their contents with a flick of his wrist.

The first orb opened, revealing one of the acclaimed Hoenn starters. With a reptilian appearance and leaves that sprouted from his wrists he was identified as Sceptile. Upon being released he followed the other Pokémon, stretching his muscles, then walking outside.

The next orb opened, and in a flash of light a creature that resembled a shark in many ways, but differed by having legs and arms. Most of his body was navy blue, but his underside was red and tan. The pseudo legendary glanced wearily around before relaxing, then following Sceptile outside.

An all black Absol materialized from the third and final pokeball. With piercing red irises and a black sickle growth on the side of his head the Pokémon shoved fear into the heart of anyone unfortunate to cross his path. Foregoing the stretching the shiny Pokémon glared at his surroundings, then he stalked outside.

With all of his Pokémon now outside and fully awake, Ash saw fit to commence the day's training.

_Scene change_

Pikachu weaved his way through seemingly endless roots and trees. He knew running was a cowardly tactic, but even so, if it saved him from burns and bald spots it was fine by him. He stopped and perked his pointed ears, listening for anything that could give his opponent away. He heard the faint flapping of wings and then a sound that became increasingly louder as it rushed through the undergrowth. Realizing quickly what the noise was, Pikachu pushed against the Earth, propelling him skyward just as a flamethrower scorched the ground beneath him. The yellow mouse turned and sent a thunderbolt into the direction of the offending fire attack. A grunt of pain confirmed a hit and Pikachu turned tail and continued to run. From behind him a massive shape appeared, blocking what little sun shown through the thick forest canopy. Its mostly blue body silhouetted against the background.

The sound of wings flapping increased as Pikachu's enemy approached. Pikachu abruptly stopped his fleeing as he saw no ground in front of him, just a sheer cliff that was a one-way ticket out of Mount Silver. He knew that he had to face his opponent now, or... well that was it. He had no other option. The mouse Pokémon knew he had no chance against the behemoth in a battle of strength, but just like his trainer he could think outside the box. He quickly ran up one of the nearby trees, aided by his quick attack. This action propelled him skyward.

It was then that he got a good view of his opponent, Salamence, but that also meant a clear shot for both Pokémon. Salamence was searching the ground, and Pikachu noted that it didn't seem to know where he had 'disappeared' to. The electric mouse used this to his advantage. As he began falling he angled his body so he would shoot straight at the pseudo legendary. As he fell he then became engulfed in the yellow aura that acted as a catalyst for his most powerful attack. The Volt Tackle slammed into the unsuspecting Pokémon, and sent it reeling into the ground.

Salamence wasn't out though, and he almost instantly got his act back together. Once he did he immediately fired a kanji shaped fire attack that charged forward with a destructive vengeance. Pikachu found the high-speed attack difficult to dodge, but dodge he did, and when he landed it was in a burnt and barren crater. Salamence was loosing her temper; though she had great aim this terrain gave Pikachu the advantage, and consequently, her the disadvantage.

Salamence charged in with Dragon rush, she expected Pikachu to dodge and had a plan formulated to counter, but to her surprise the mouse charged toward her assault with another Volt Tackle. Salamence knew she far outmatched Pikachu in brute force, so she saw no drawback in continuing on her collision course with the mouse Pokémon. The dragon soon became enveloped in the blue swirling energy that signified Dragon Rush. The two met in the middle, both fighting for dominance. But before any species could gain dominance both energies destabilized, causing a massive blast. The resulting explosion tore apart the undergrowth and uprooted trees. A resulting thick cloud consisting of smoke and dust shrouded both combatants from view. Both Pokémon held their ground, not willing to give their opponent the satisfaction of seeing the other give way.

"Great work, you did fantastic under real world scenarios." Ash complimented once the obscuring cloud had moved on.

The large Pokémon glared at the mouse before the malicious glint in her eyes disappeared, and she turned to the man. Both Pokémon looked to see said man resting calmly in the shade of a large tree. His red lenses mirrored their movements, and the eyes behind calculated them. The Pokémon took this as his way of telling them to come over to him. The pair walked over to him and sat down near him, waiting for their trainer to make a move.

The Pallet native reached out and scratched Pikachu behind the ears, earning him a soft coo of happiness. Then he turned to the dragon, rubbing his chin and receiving a growl of pleasure for his effort.

"That's enough for now, take a break, we start special training in 1 hour." He said

Salamence grunted affirmatively and walked away, but Pikachu stayed.

"I thought so, you aren't tired." Ash said, beginning to walk.

_'Well, Pokémon do tend to take after their trainers.' _Pikachu recited, hopping onto his trainer's right shoulder

Ash sighed as he took in the peaceful scenery that surrounded the pair, "Well, another day in paradise, right buddy."

_'You bet_._'_ The electric type nodded with a smile.

Soon the trees around them began to thin and they came upon the same spot that Ash stood in earlier. Although this time it was not the sky that was watched, it was his Pokémon. All were at the top of their species, but Ash still pushed them harder, knowing they could do better. Eventually, the Pokémon had been trained to the pinnacle of their physical evolutions; their bodies could literally not handle more power. But Ash had created moves of his own, forcing them to train beyond the physical limit.

Ash sighed yet again as he watched the valley below. He eyed the small lake below the cliff with envy, the sun was already beating down steadily on them and it was only around noon. He was in fact, about to go for a swim when something hit him. He turned around to see a long pink tail floating.

Ash chuckled and gently grasped the tail, "Don't you think it's a little early for this?" Ash said as he held the now upside down Mew closer to his face.

Mew gave a cute smile before turning so she was the correct way up.

"Mew." The pink feline turned so she was upside down again and looked into Ash's eyes. She then flew around a bush and formed a pink bubble, before beginning to bounce on it.

Ash couldn't help but smile at the Legendary's playful nature. Mew bounced about for a bit, then the origin Pokémon stopped and observed the surroundings, eyes scanning the tree line. Ash knew what she was looking for.

"Even after all these years, you are always near her." Ash turned to see the genetic Pokémon Mewtwo floating before him,

"Someone has to keep an eye on her."

Ash smiled and then sat down, back against a tree. Mewtwo followed and rested up against a different tree, "You know why I have come Ash."

"I have told you before, I have no intention of going back."

The psychic type shook his head, "If you could see what I have seen then you would understand. Your friends are sick without you. You shouldn't cut yourself away from them just on the words of their foolish parents."

Ash sighed before looking at Mewtwo with an indifferent glance, "Why do you care anyway? If I remember correctly I am the only human that you trust, let alone contact on a regular basis."

_"_You have worked long and hard Ash; you deserve another chance. They had no right to do what they did, but it made you stronger. Now prove to them that they were wrong." Mewtwo said with a wistful look in his eyes. Then, he disappeared.

Ash stared at the spot where the genetic Pokémon once resided. He had made an oath to himself that he didn't need the world, that he didn't need friends. But after an event about a year ago he realized his resolve was weakening. His will to keep his self enforced promise breaking.

Knowing this was not a decision he could make on his own he turned with a questioning gaze to his little yellow starter. Silently asking him what he should do.

Pikachu shrugged his tiny shoulders, _'Not my call, but I think it serve you well to take Mewtwo's advice.'_

Ash nodded, accepting to, at the very least, look over what Mewtwo had compiled. Even without an explanation Ash somehow knew what Mewtwo had in store for him. The legendary psychic wanted him to take part in a tournament held at the Indigo Plateau. The competition would be to see who would gain the honor of competing in the master's league, and word on the street was that Cynthia nor Steven have competed in the league. The competition would be rock solid, but he had trained long and hard and was ready to test his strength against the five regions once again. Of course, Ash couldn't enter under his real name. Ash Ketchum is technically legally deceased.

"I wonder what my new name is going to be?" Ash asked to no one in particular.

_'Let's find out'_ Pikachu said, also interested.

Ash obliged and opened the red Pokedex, "I am registered to Pokémon trainer Red Satoshi," the mechanical voice droned, then it rattled off a whole fake background about Red Satoshi, who was from Johto and received his starter, a Cyndaquil, from Professor Elm.

"Mewtwo really outdid himself. I owe him a favor." Ash chuckled as he admired his profile.

A moment of silence followed, broken by Ash, "Ready Pi?"

_'You bet, ready to decimate the 'Prodigies' of Pokémon?'_ Asked Pikachu excitedly.

"I've been ready for 4 years, Pi. Red is going to kick some five region ass" He reached into his pack, and pulled out a pair of black sunglasses, with red-mirrored lenses. He took one last look at the icy peaks he had called home for years, "You know Pi, I'm really not gonna miss that place."

_'You said it, let's go to Orre next, the deserts there are really warm.'_ the yellow rodent replied giddily, probably imagining getting a sunburn.

"Sure buddy, now lets go to Kanto." the Pokémon nodded, and they walked of into the distance, disappearing from view.

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**A/N:**

**I changed Ash's whole attitude. I decided it would be better if he was cold in the beginning. Before I rewrote the chapter I realized that it was, for the most part, terribly written. And second I wrote his character a little moody. He acted according to Canon in the beginning, then acted like I planned for him to midway through the story. Either way, this is how he's staying. Tell me what you thought, all review types are welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **

**This is the chapter with the wardrobe change, tell me what you think of his new threads. Once again I made him act more serious on the whole, keeping bits and pieces of sarcasm and humor along the way **

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Ash rode on the back of his Charizard, watching for any signs of the Indigo Plateau. He didn't want to be seen so soon, even with a legit alias at his disposal he didn't want any suspicion. He also wanted to keep his Pokémon a secret; he knew from experience surprise was a big factor in a tournament. His piercing gaze soon rested itself on a sight he hadn't seen in a good long while. Ash admired the beauty of the complex only for a moment before ordered his Pokémon to land.

Ash had gone to admittedly extreme lengths to conceal himself, he cut his hair, changed his eye color, and named all of his Pokémon. He wanted nothing that could be traced to his true identity. He also had a total wardrobe change.

He wore an all black, form fitting long sleeved shirt covered by a thick red and black vest with a collar that stood up. The combination he wore was perfect for his life on Mount Silver. It kept him warm and allowed his arms free movement. A pair of black jeans completed the ensemble. It wasn't overly impressive, but that was just what he wanted, he wanted to be another normal face in the crowd.

Ash returned the newly named Ruby to his ball. And began walking. His thoughts were too focused on the upcoming tournament that he didn't notice the thick trees begin to thin. The once focused trainer was shaken from his musings by the spectral might of the sun on a clear day. Ash quickly shielded his eyes, and blinked rapidly, attempting to adjust to the new light level.

After a moment of pain he uncovered his eyes and the Indigo Plateau loomed large on the horizon. Suddenly, thoughts of his past began to flood this mind, and with out warning, his vision went white again, but as his vision returned it was not the Plateau looming large, but his own home in Pallet. Ash flinched as an explosion shook the air around him. The force of the shockwave threw a familiar figure, which was making his way towards the once pristine house, to the ground. The figure struggled to his feet, all the while shouting, 'Mom, MOM!'

But there was no answer. Ash knew the story quite well. It played every night in his head on an endless loop. He memorized the opening, the plot, the twist and the conclusion. But this tale was not one thought up by Walt Disney (Although it might have been because the mother dies). Many horrors were contained, and Ash knew every one. For the tale of pain and heartbreak shown before him was his own.

Suddenly, his vision blurred once again, and as it cleared he was in what seemed like a courtroom. There was an older man sitting behind a counter arguing with a dark haired man.

"What do you mean not enough evidence?" demanded the enraged dark haired man.

The older man did not bat an eye at the dark haired man's anger, "I mean, there is not enough evidence that proves Mr. Ketchum is a murderer, Mr. Maple."

Then there was angry shouting and cursing from more than just the dark haired man as the judge put his hammer down. Then, his vision blurred again, and cleared to his Pikachu, trying to shake him awake.

_"Ash? Oh good, you were out for a while, what happened?" _

"Nothing important" He said, appearing to shrug off the vision,

"Ready Pi?"

The little Pokémon was unconvinced, but did not push the matter, "_As I'll every be." _

"I don't know why you're nervous, I have to talk to the people." Ash said, giving his starter a weird look.

_"Because I have to be in your backpack all day." _ Pikachu said with a disgusted look on his face as he eyed the black pack with a red pokeball emblem on the back.

"There's some food in there." Ash sighed.

_"I love you." _Pikachu's face instantly brightened_._

Ash's face adopted an annoyed look as his Pokémon 'returned', or he went into his pack. As he zipped up the pack a shadow passed overhead. He looked up to see an airplane labeled Sinnoh Airlines making a beeline for Indigo Airport. Ash figured the Sinnoh champion and Elite Four were on board.

As the plane faded into the horizon Ash resumed his trek to the Pokémon center. 30 minutes later he arrived at said Pokémon center. He walked through the doors, and turned to the front desk, expecting to register and be done with it. But it was not to be. Because as he was about to ask the local Nurse Joy if he could register his Pokémon he soon found himself about to ask his question to the floor as another person smashed into him

"Ugh… who the hell-?" Ash groaned, holding his head

"Oh my god I am so sorry!"

"Huh?" Ash looked surprised, the apologetic voice sounded feminine.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, let me help you up." The voice said again

"Sure but I… Cynthia?" Ash gasped, surprised that the elegant Sinnoh champion had been the one to run into him

"Yes, but do I know you?" She said looking surprised as well

Ash finally got over his shock and responded, "Sort of, I know who you are, but then again who doesn't."

"True," Cynthia said with a ghost of a grin, "But you said sort of, does that mean you and I have met?"

"Yeah, but you probably don't remember me." Ash said, not realizing how much he was letting out to the champion

"Talking about remembering, you look like someone I know." She said, eying him suspiciously.

"Who?" Ash dared to ask

"Ash Ketchum." She said.

The once conspicuous was floored, already? "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean obviously not the hair and physical build, but the facial features. Can you take off your sunglasses?" Cynthia asked, perplexed by this man.

"Are you sure?" He asked, trying to make it seem like a big deal.

"I'm positive."

"Okay." And off the sunglasses came, revealing a unique sight. Without the sunglasses to provide a barrier she had a clear view of Ash's deep, piercing, dark red irises.

"Interesting, you have similar facial features, but your eyes are all wrong." She observed.

"Yes, sorry to disappoint you." Ash said

"No problem, but I never got your name." Cynthia said, fully interested in this man, seeing as he isn't Ash.

"Red, Red Satoshi." Ash said.

"Good to know, I guess I'll be seeing you in the tournament." Cynthia said, beginning to walk away.

"How did you know I was competing and not watching a friend?" Ash said in amusement.

"Because I saw your Charizard, not to mention that your badge cases fell out of your jacket." She said, and then proceeded to exit through the glass doors.

Ash looked at the ground surprised and true to form, saw his cases on the ground. Ash groaned and went to pick them up, when suddenly he heard a cry of 'WAIT!'

Ash was not clumsy, not anymore, and to this day he upheld that fact. Ash would also uphold that when he was smashed into once again, it was not his fault.

"Oh sorry about my brother, let me help you up." Another feminine voice said.

"Ugh… Déjà vu." Ash said rubbing his head.

He heard laughing in the background, and as soon as he was on his feet he saw a girl with long blonde hair leaning up against a wall laughing.

"Well, fancy running into you again." She said in between laughs.

"Very funny, Cynthia." Ash grumbled as he once again picked up his badge case.

"You two know each other." Another voice said.

"Yes Dawn, we just met a few minutes ago." Cynthia giggled

"Max, how many times do I have to tell you not to run into places without looking!" yet another voice said.

"Alright, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I don't know any of you guys. So it would be great if you would introduce yourself." Ash suggested, feeling rather annoyed and left out, although the latter really didn't bother him.

"Okay, I'm May." The girl that helped him up said.

"Name's Max." The voice that ran into him said.

"I'm Dawn." A blue haired girl chirped.

"Thank you, now we can have proper conversation." Ash smiled approvingly.

"Yes, but you left out one thing," Cynthia said

"What's that?" Ash said confused.

"Your name." Cynthia pointed out.

Ash groaned and blushed lightly from embarrassment. The group chuckled at the embarrassed trainer.

"My name is Red Satoshi." Ash said, utilizing his alias.

"Nice to meet you Red, are you-"

Dawn started but was quickly shoved aside by Max, "Are you competing? What Pokémon do you have? What level are they? Can we battle? Are you… mph, mph"

Max's mouth was covered by his sister as he failed to stop his constant questions _'Same old May and Max' _Ash thought with a grin

"Sorry about my brother he's just excited about the competition." May said, glaring at her brother.

"Its no problem May, but I really must leave." Ash said, beginning to feel uncomfortable about letting out his secret

"Red!" Cynthia called out.

"Yes?"

Cynthia started to blush a little, "Would you mind staying with us for lunch, you know so we could… get more acquainted with one another?"

Red was startled, no one was this nice to a stranger, but who was he to turn her down, "Okay, so where do you want-" Ash was interrupted by another voice, this one much deeper than any of the previous ones.

"Nurse Joy! If only I could express the feelings of eternal love I have for…" BAM "Ack!" A purple, luminescent fist promptly ended the spiky haired man's rant. Which was courtesy of a Toxicroak

"Uh." Ash said, unsure of what to say.

"It's been almost 5 years and you still haven't changed. GET A GIRLFRIEND!" A red head shouted, dragging him away.

"Um, is he alright?" Ash said, a little worried for not just the man, but himself, wondering if that had just happened.

"Yeah." Dawn chirped, "That happens on a daily basis, no scratch that, an hourly basis depending on the city/town."

"No I mean…" Ash didn't finish, figuring he had implied what he meant.

May caught on and nodded, "Perfectly… we think."

"So you know him?" Ash asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, he's called Brock. He is the ex gym leader in pewter city." May and Max said in unison.

"That's why he's familiar." Ash said, snapping his fingers.

"Yeah, being a gym leader, everyone here has already beaten him, his dad, or his little brother." May said with a smirk.

"Are you _positive_ he's all there? You know, mentally?" Ash asked.

"Well, he's Brock." Dawn said giggling.

"There really is no other way of describing him." May agreed, with a grin.

"Describing who?" a familiar voice said.

"No one Brock." Max quickly said.

"Nice to meet you… again Brock." Ash said, offering his hand.

"Um, you too, but again?" Brock said confused.

"Yeah." Ash said showing his Kanto badge case, with the pewter badge first.

"Alright then, say, you look like someone I knew. Do you know Ash Ketchum?" Brock inquired.

"Why does everyone think I'm Ash Ketchum. Who the hell is the guy?" Ash nearly shouted, annoyed with the comparisons not because they were wrong, but because they are right. He had concealed his identity for a reason. His friend's family still believed him a murderer, and seeing as most of his friend's parents had the power to jail him, he had to tread carefully. He needed to do something unlike Ash, but he had already done everything in his power, the 'Z' marks once marring his face had disappeared with age, and he even changed his eye color. Then he realized they couldn't see that change.

"Others think so too?" Brock said, becoming suspicious.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but look at his eyes. They are completely different." Cynthia said.

"Okay, can you take off your sunglasses Red?" Brock asked while to group nodded.

"No." Red said, causing the girls to moan quietly in disappointment

"Why did you let Cynthia see them?" Dawn whined.

_'Now' _Ash thought, _'time to throw the curveball.'_

"Because she's hot."

Cynthia turned bright red, and the groups' mouths hit the floor.

Ash chuckled and defended with an, "Am I wrong?"

Cynthia, still red as a tomato_, _suggested the group go for lunch, and the awe struck group could do nothing but nod, as Ash laughed at their expressions; this was definitely worth it.

Lunch was uneventful, the first part consisted of how hot Red thought Cynthia was, and after a unanimous decision of 'very' was reached between Brock and Ash, the conversation moved onto Ash.

Brock opened up with the basics, "So Red, you're from Kanto?"

Ash shook his head; "I was born here, but moved to Johto at a young age."

"So you come to Kanto often?" Misty asked, who had been quiet the whole time.

"Yes, as most people from Johto do, I don't believe I got your name, though I have seen you before." Ash said, making it look like he was thinking. Of course he knew her!

"I'm Misty Waterflower, Gym leader of the Cerulean Pokémon gym." Misty said with gusto and pride.

"Oh that's right, I destroyed the Cerulean gym." Ash said, lying again.

Misty's ego deflated, but she argued right back, "You did not. We are one of the toughest gyms in the region!"

"Yeah, until the challenger has an electric Pokémon." Ash smirked as Misty once again, had no comeback.

The group laughed at Misty, while she turned red from embarrassment. Ash couldn't help but join in; it felt good to be back… ish.

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**A/N:**

**Nothing new to say, except review of course!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Pokemon**

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The next Morning Ash woke up feeling happy, something his Lucario, 'Noble' as he was now dubbed, was keen to point to, "You are joyful master, I take it yesterday went well?"

"Better than well Lucario, uh I mean Noble." Ash revised, still getting used to the names. "I fit right in, even after 5 years the group hasn't changed as much as I thought it would. I'm also glad mom made me take those acting lessons when I was a kid."

"I knew you would make it." A baritone voice stated.

"Yes Mewtwo, we all know you know everything." A black Absol groaned, "Now keep it down."

"Can it canine, as I was saying—"

"You know, technically I'm a _fel_ine right?" Absol corrected.

_Scene change._

As Ash's former traveling group walked together, minus Cynthia who had an early battle, walked along the sidewalk to Cynthia's field the sound of glass shattering could be heard. The group exchanged looks and ran towards the sound. They arrived just in time to see a black Pokémon fly out of a third floor hotel window. The Pokémon gracefully flipped so he would land on his feet. Even with the landing the Pokémon, that was now identified, as a shiny Absol was no less angry.

_Scene Change_

As Absol flew out the window Ash sweat dropped, knowing this would happen. Absol or 'Poet' had always been a bit of a smart ass.

"That was a little excessive don't you think?" Ash tried to reason.

"I don't have to pay for it Ash, bye!" The genetic Pokémon retorted, showing an extremely rare flare of humor.

"Bastard, when I get my hands on that Pokémon—" Ash's rant was interrupted by shouting from outside._ 'Ah shit, I forgot about Absol'_ Ash thought in surprise.

"Hello!" May and Dawn shouted, trying to get the person in the room's attention.

"Sorry!" Ash called out the window, "Uh I'll get that later" eyeing the window.

"Red, This is your Pokémon?" Max shouted incredulously

"Yes! Don't move I'll be right down!" Ash shouted, wile grabbing his glasses, jacket and bag and sprinting down the stairs.

As he rounded the corner he smashed into something, or someone.

"Ugh" a feminine voice groaned, confirming Ash's suspicion, much to his chagrin.

"Sorry, sorry, Cynthia?" Ash's apologizing was halted when he recognized his fellow impactee.

"Hello to you to Red, I hope we don't always crash into each other each time we meet." Cynthia giggled.

Red sweat dropped, "Sorry, what are you doing here? Your hotel is on the other side of the plaza."

"Oh, just looking for Dawn, Brock and co. They weren't at my battle so I went to see if they overslept." Cynthia explained.

Ash nodded, "Okay, follow me, I'll show you where they are."

"Um, okay?" Cynthia said, unsure about what to do other than follow him.

"Great, come with me."

As the pair arrived Absol was growling at the group, not advancing, but not backing away either. The group looked terrified.

Cynthia giggled at the odd sight, while Ash went over to his Absol

"Poet, these people are friends, not food." Ash said, mimicking the famous Finding Nemo line.

_"When I get my hands on that sorry excuse for a Pokémon I'm gonna—"_ Absol's rant was interrupted by Max shouting at Ash

"Red, your Pokémon tried to kill us!"

"No, he's just not very friendly around people he doesn't know, he doesn't hurt someone unless he doesn't like them." Ash rationalized with a kid who looks like he just wet his pants. Which was not easy.

"So if he doesn't like someone he eats them." Max cried out in terror.

Cynthia thought this was amusing, as did everyone else.

"Max, my Absol is an excellent judge of character, I don't know why he threatened you, must be because your ugly." Ash said with a smirk.

The group broke down in laughter. They definitely liked the new guy.

"Very funny." Max grumbled.

Ash laughed at him before looking at his watch, when he did his eyes bugged out of his head, "Ah shioot" Ash said, correcting himself because of the minor, (Max) "I am late for my battle, bye!" Ash took off before they had a chance to say anything.

The group looked at the Absol, who shrugged, then took off after his trainer.

_Scene change_

"If the red trainer does not show up in the next minute, he forfeits and is here by eliminated." The ref announced.

"I'm here, I'm here." Ash puffed out as he entered the field.

The crowd cheered as Ash caught his breath.

The ref eyed him, "Oversleep Mr. Satoshi?"

"No, my Pokémon was thrown out my window." Ash explained.

The crowd laughed thinking it was a joke, Ash didn't try to change their mind, the crowd support was now on his side.

The ref raised his flags, "The battle between Red Satoshi of Ruby Isle and Jon Thomas of Cerulean City will now begin, and each trainer will be allowed three Pokémon. Substitutions are not allowed. After one trainer loses all three Pokémon the match is over, there is no time limit. It has been decided that the red trainer will sound out his Pokémon first… BEGIN!" The ref shouted, waving his flags.

Ash didn't miss a beat as he threw his ball, and out of it appeared a green lizard, which then proceeded to place a twig in his mouth.

"And Red starts with a powerful Sceptile. Whom will Jon send out to counter?" The announcer asked.

"Is that a trick question? Houndoom, battle time." Jon called as he threw his own ball.

Appearing in a flash of light was a canine Pokémon with two curled horns coming out of his head. The fire-type roared, trying to intimidate his opponent, but Sceptile would have none of it, merely smirking at the Pokémon he was about to destroy.

"Patron, quick attack into aerial ace." Ash said smoothly.

"And Red looks to end it with one shot!" The announcer called out, "Will he pull it off?"

"Houndoom, fire spin." Jon said frantically, trying to stop the powerful combination that was so hard to master.

The Pokémon fired and tried desperately to hit the blur that was Sceptile. However, just before the super effective flames hit the Pokémon, Sceptile disappeared, and then reappeared… just as it connected with the fire Pokémon.

"Houndoom no!" Jon called as one of his best Pokémon was felled with one hit.

Sceptile flipped away and landed majestically on Ash's side of the field. He stood up straight and bowed to the awed audience. The audience clapped and laughed at the Pokémon's antics, while Ash just chuckled. Sceptile always liked the limelight.

"Yes he can!" The announcer called out, "Jon's first Pokémon turned into Swiss cheese with just one attack."

The crowd groaned at the horrible 'joke'. Jon, undeterred, threw out his next Pokémon.

"Try to take this guy down with a physical attack!" Jon called arrogantly.

"And Jon's next Pokémon is a…Golem?" The announcer slowly finished confused by this choice.

"Man, is this guy suicidal?" Ash asked, not believing the raw stupidity in his first opponent. _'Well, there is a reason why they're the first you face.' _ Ash thought with a chuckle.

"Golem, Roll out!" Jon called.

"Um… Okay. Patron, swallow an energy ball, then cut this guy down to size with leaf blade." Ash commanded.

"And Sceptile charged an energy ball, but he swallows it?" The announcer said in shock. "I cannot believe what I am seeing folks, this is a strategy I have never seen before!" he shouted like a little kid.

Sceptile glowed green and smirked he charged up dual leaf blades that wore flowing with power. Sceptile got on one knee, ready to take the impact. As Golem neared Sceptile on his suicide run Jon shouted something Ash was not ready for,

"Golem Explosion!"

"Shit, Patron—" Whatever Ash was going to say was cut off by an earsplitting boom, throwing Ash to the ground nearly 4 feet from where he was originally standing. It took all Ash had to remain conscious, but he was more worried about Sceptile, being in such close proximity with that blast.

As the dust cleared Ash struggled his way back to his feet. When he finally stood he was definitely favoring one leg. Sceptile however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Sceptile!" Ash shouted, too worried to use nicknames.

_'I'm here Ash, just underground.' _A voice in his head said.

_"Okay, he just returned Golem, we are waiting on you to come out," _Ash responded to his Pokémon. _'Good. I thought he had been vaporized.' _Ash thought to himself.

_"Roger." _The lizard replied.

Out of the ground a few feet in front of Ash's trainer's box came Sceptile.

"Wow, Ladies and gentleman, Sceptile is up and ready for round 3." The announcer called.

Jon growled, but threw out his last Pokémon nonetheless. The Pokémon appeared with a loud cry. The source of the cry is the Kanto starter, Blastoise.

"Patron, this will be quick, use double team and solar beam." Ash advised.

'_Got it Ketchum.' _Sceptile replied, showing he understood.

Almost instantaneously a dozen or more Sceptile copies surrounded the starter Pokémon. As each started to charge the strongest special grass attack Jon took action,

"Blastoise, surf!"

"Wow, I didn't know people still used HM moves." Ash said, intrigued as to why the trainer bothered with surf, when Pokémon were fully capable of doing it without the HM, "Oh well, live and learn, Patron, fire."

The seeds on Sceptile's back glowed and then a white beam fired out of the Pokémon's mouth.

The beam tore through the wave and slammed into Blastoise, causing a bright explosion.

"No Blastoise!" Jon cried out, falling to his knees as his first Pokémon hit the ground after an insanely strong solar beam.

"Well done Patron." Ash praised as the two of them bowed back to back.

'_It wasn't that good, his Pokémon were, completely shit.'_ Sceptile smirked.

"Agreed, but we learnt something interesting today." Ash said, trying to hold back a grin.

_'What's that?' _Sceptile asked, confused about how Ash could get something out of that battle.

"That you have a good panic fallback."

Sceptile growled playfully at his laughing trainer, then he swatted him with his tail, causing him to fall on his face.

_'Serves you right.' _Sceptile laughed at his now grounded trainer.

Ash glared at the Hoenn starter as he got up from the ground. As he was about to make a smart retort, he was enveloped and blue light and the landscape in front of him, vanished.

"Why, Mewtwo?" Ash asked, not annoyed with the Pokémon, just interested in the motivation.

"Well, since it was such a long way to your hotel I thought I would give you a lift." Mewtwo shrugged.

"And you weren't worried that I had something going?" Ash asked, faking annoyance.

"No, you have no life, so I would not be interrupting anything." The baritone voice chuckled. And the chuckled were reinforced by the laughter from Sceptile and Pikachu.

Ash glared at the genetic Pokémon, but the glare didn't last long as he too, began to chuckle. Mewtwo's jokes were like gourmet meal, it was good to enjoy them regardless of the cost and rarity.

_'So Ash, when are we going to start using our combination attacks?' _His green reptilian Pokémon asked.

"Let me answer your question, with one of mine. When will the competition start to be a competition?"

_Scene change_

"Oh Cynthia, it must be fate that we meet again. Now let us write our own dest… iny."

Brock fell to the ground and was pulled away by his Toxicroak and a muttering Misty. "The only writing you are going to do is about how sorry your life is."

Everyone laughed and then turned to the Champion. "So how did you fare?"

"Well, in all honesty, I destroyed the trainer."

The group winced.

"Yeah, she was kind of pathetic." Cynthia said.

"If you ask me, they should filter the trainers that can enter." Misty said annoyed.

"How'd you do Misty?" Cynthia asked, changing the subject.

"I did okay, I was dominating the trainer until he pulled out a Raichu that terrorized Golduck, and tied with Starmie." The red head said.

"Sorry to hear that, Max did you win?" Cynthia tuned her attention to the boy.

"Sort of, I had a first round bye." Max said as he rubbed that back of his head in embarrassment.

The group grinned, looks like the trainer finally held some humility. But that happy idea disappeared,

"But I'll destroy the next trainer." Max said, pumping his fist.

"Do any of you know when Red's next battle is?" Brock asked.

_Scene Change_

"Pi, thunder"

"Gyarados no!"

"The green trainer is out of usable Pokémon, Red Satoshi is the winner!"

The crowd roared with approval, Red had become an overnight sensation. After he dominated Jon in his first preliminary round battle, the crowd began to adore him, now he was signing autographs, and companies were selling his trademark sunglasses.

However, in the executive box, a discussion was underway,

"That was impressive, that trainer stood no chance." An unmistakably male voice said.

"I agree Lance," an older, more feminine voice responded, "this Red shows promise."

"I will destroy him, Bertha." Lance declared.

"Don't be so sure boy, this lad is hiding something, call it woman's intuition. If you want, I can talk Charles into to giving you two the first semifinal match." Bertha said.

"You won't be able to convince him." Lance said with assurance.

"I think she will find it easy to convince him." Another older voice said, but this one male.

"Mr. Goodshow!"

"Good afternoon Charles, you apparently heard our conversation." Bertha quipped with a small smile.

"Yes, and I think a good battle will set the crowd alight. I will make the changes immediately." Mr. Goodshow smiled as he walked towards the schedule.

_Scene change_

"Who do you think I'm battling next, PI?" Asked Red.

'_Beats me Ash, but I wouldn't get cocky.' _The little Pokémon replied.

"I think he will be a pushover, all my battles have been—" Ash was interrupted by a loud, but young voice.

"Lance is battling Red! Lance against Red!" A young boy shouted, handing out pamphlets.

Ash and Pikachu looked at each other, _'A push over huh?'_

"Shut up Pi."

_Scene change_

"Red's next battle is… 1 hour ago." Brock said awkwardly.

"Damn, I wanted to see him destroy someone else." Max sighed.

May cuffed him over the head, "Max, language."

Max rubbed his head, and didn't respond.

"His next battle is tomorrow at 3, its in stadium 4, and against a Richard Seymour."

"Never heard of him." May said.

"Me neither, should be an easy battle." Cynthia said, not really paying attention.

Shouting broke their moment of silence.

"Lance against Red! Lance against Red!"

"Ah, maybe not so easy." May said, sweat dropping.

"Red has his work cut out for him." Cynthia agreed.

"There he is now, Red!" Dawn and Max shouted.

Red turned, a little surprised. But was immediately swarmed by reporters.

The group watched in amusement as Red uncomfortably answered the questions, and his Pikachu retreated to the safety of his bag. Ash sent a murderous glare at them, but the group just laughed.

After the reporters left, and all the autographs were signed, Red walked over to the group with an annoyed look on his face,

"That was interesting."

"Indeed, Red, you took it like a pro." Max chuckled.

"Yeah, um, I guess you did." May said, unsure of what to say.

"If you will excuse me. I need to prepare." Red said as he walked away, then jumped onto his overly large Charizard.

"I think Red will win." Cynthia whispered as she watched the trainers retreating form.

"Why? Red seems good, but Lance is a champion." Max asked, confused.

"Because he has it in him." Cynthia responded.

(A/N I noticed some confusion above. FYI Lance's name is not Richard Seymour that was the person who Ash was going to face before the schedule change. My bad!)

As Charizard flew, Ash was in deep thought about his next battle. He was wondering what caused the change. He had desperately wanted to battle a champion, but not this soon. He didn't think they were ready. However, he knew the trainer that was supposed to face Lance just caught a major break.

Ash shook his head to try and focus of his current task. He directed his Pokémon to land in a large clearing by a clear lake. As he landed he called out all of his Pokémon,

"Listen up, our next battle will be special. As soon as we set foot into that stadium, everything is about the battle. 6 of you will be locked in combat with one of the strongest trainers in the world. You will fight to the end; you will not give up, no matter how bad you want to fall flat on your face. We came here to prove one thing, that we are the best. In order to say that we are the best, we have to beat the best. Lance is not far from the best, if not _the_ best, so are we gonna lose?"

_'NO!'_

"What are we gonna do?"

_'WIN!'_

"WHAT?"

_'WIN!'_

"This battle determines our fate, if we lose, we fizzle out, and will be forgotten, all our hard work and solitude, as well as our promise…" Ash's voice dropped as he mentioned the promise, "If we win, we will have branded our names into the minds of everyone. We will be the only one to have defeated champion Lance during his reign as champion in an official battle. Are, you ready?'

_'YES!'_

"Lance is a dragon master, so I need to chose wisely."

Ash observed all of his Pokémon, all of which wanted the chance to go toe to toe with the champion of Johto/Kanto. However, Ash saw that some wanted more, that some wanted to prove their worth to the world, Ash smiled, recalled his team. And was teleported back to his hotel room.

During the night Ash had a flash back

_"No, please stay with me, please!" Ash cried into a black haired girls chest_

_"Ash, my time is up." The girl said_

_"No!" Ash cried, "No its not!"_

_"Don't deny it Ash, live on in not just my memory, but your mother's as well. Please follow your dream, no matter who or what stands in you way." The girl said._

_Ash said nothing, he was crying too hard to. He managed only a nod in acknowledgment. His promise was made, and Organization Omni would pay for it._

_The rain continued to pound on the pair of lovers, but as Ash held his dying lover it didn't matter. His career didn't matter his Pokémon didn't matter. All that nattered to him at that moment was his lover, his Sapphire._

End Flashback

Ash woke up with a cry. He looked around until his eyes found his clock, 7:42. Ash hadn't realized it, but he had startled all of his Pokémon who were outside of their balls. He didn't notice until they all gathered around him, concern written on their faces,

_"What happened Ash?" _Poet (Absol) spoke first.

Ash sighed, "Nothing, don't worry. Keep focused on the battle." Then he thought to himself, '_Another lie'_

_Time skip/Scene change_

Ash stared at the lift that would take him to the field. He was long past the 'butterflies' he was ready to win. Ash clutched a pokeball, his first choice for the battle.

"Mr. Satoshi, please step onto to the lift." A man said.

Ash complied, stepped onto the lift, and was whizzed up to the battlefield. The sound from the crowd was deafening, but none of that mattered now, it was just he and Lance. Lance apparently thought the same, as he appeared with facial features set in a determined look.

"This will be a six on six full battle between champion Lance, and the overnight sensation, Red. There will be no substitutions." The official announced

Red and Lance nodded simultaneously at the ref, who nodded back and brought down both flags, "BEGIN!"

* * *

**AN:**

**Just to clear up any confusion Lance's name is not Richard Seymour. That was the guy Ash was supposed to battle before the schedule change. Also, yes Ash fought twice in one day. Any other problems? Post in a review and I'll see what I can do. This chapter was long, and between school and Lacrosse it was hard to find the time to fit it in. Reviews will make the late nights a little less painful. Sorry Littleking, just read your review. My B!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Pokemon**

* * *

"Dragonair, I choose you."

"Go."

Two Pokémon appeared on the field, one a majestic blue dragon, and the other a jackal Pokémon.

"The first match is between Dragonair and Lucario!" The announcer shouted as the two Pokémon's pictures lit up on the board.

"Dragonair, dragon rage!" Lance called.

The only sign that Dragonair heard was the instantaneous charging and firing of the orange orb.

"Dodge, then extreme speed into giga impact." Ash commanded

Lucario complied, gracefully flipping away from the sphere, and disappearing.

"Damn, Dragonair shockwave." Lance called.

Before the dragon type had the chance, she was smashed into the stadium wall by a gold and purple blur (Giga impact plus extreme speed).

"What an impact! Will Dragonair be able to continue?" The announcer shouted.

The dust cleared, and revealed a downed, but not out Dragonair.

Lance smiled, he knew she would come through, "Quick, while it can't dodge, use hyper beam!"

Ash just sighed, how the hell did this guy become champion of the interregional tournaments? "Use your aura to enhance your energy build up, then duck at the last moment."

Lucario nodded, and began focusing his aura into energy for his body. Once he had enough to move he nodded. His trainer acknowledged, but did nothing.

Lance thought this would end it, no Pokémon could take a hit like that and continue, right?

The blue dragon fired the orange beam. As it tore across the field the crowd watched in anticipation. Lucario tuned everything out, and focused on the beam. _'Now'. _

Lucario hit the ground, going completely prone.

The beam sailed over his head, going centimeters above his head.

"Excellent work Noble, finish with aura sphere." Ash ordered.

Lucario nodded, then got shakily to his feet. Once the aura Pokémon was on his feet he began charging an aura sphere.

Lance was worried to say the least, "Dragonair, endure it!"

Dragon nodded, and then tensed her muscles, preparing for the inevitable impact.

Lucario fired not one, but three spheres that were glowing with energy. To say Lance was surprised was an understatement,

_'Well shit, Dragonair cannot take all three hits. This sucks!' _Lance thought.

The first two aura spheres exploded, but Dragonair remained up, raising Lance's hopes, but then the third brought those hopes crashing to the ground. Just like Dragonair.

Suddenly, the dragon Pokémon began to glow a bright white. The crowd was silent; this was a big deal as well as a big problem for Ash

"And Lance's dragon evolves into the Pokémon he is famous for. Though it is not his strongest one, it is no a pushover, can Red prevail?" The announcer shouted.

"Dragonite, heat wave into flamethrower." Lance commanded

His dragon Pokémon did nothing, but glowed orange as an intense heat began seeping from its body.

Ash grimaced, that was an impressive effect combo. '_It will damage the entire field, but then will focus in on the Pokémon after it was weakened by the heat wave. Guess I under estimated Lance, shocker.' _He thought

Ash quickly formulated a plan that rested entirely on Lucario's willpower, "Lucario, brace yourself and take the heat wave, then launch an aura pulse."

The aura Pokémon nodded and braced for the oncoming attack.

Lance smiled; there was no way a steel type could last under his most prized Pokémon's heat wave. And the smile on Lance's face only grew as he watched the powerful attack connect with his opponent's Lucario. But the smile turned to a shocked frown as the Lucario withstood the attack, and then launched a pulsating beam of blue energy at the flamethrower.

Ash smiled as the two special attacks collided, this meant he might have a chance in this match. He knew this was Lance's best chance at an early victory because of the rejuvenation that Dragonite received because of the evolution. But he knew Lucario still stood a chance in this match.

Suddenly, Lucario flared white, and his beam of aura changed from a pale blue to a white. This caused Ash to nearly cry out in surprise,

_'Look's like he finally unlocked the next power stage.' _Ash thought to himself

_"Master I, I feel so much power!" _The emanation Pokémon said in disbelief.

Ash nodded, "Yes, now use_ that power."_

The white beam began to push back the flamethrower causing the spectators to gasp. Just how powerful was this Pokémon?

Then Lucario's beam wavered, this change in power caused both beams to explode. When the dust settled a verdict was made.

Ash as well as everyone else was shocked, but then Ash understood what happened,

_'He pushed himself too far. I guess all that new power put too much stress on his body.'_

The ref, who was also shocked, waited a moment and then called his verdict,

"Both Pokémon are unable to battle, Trainers, please send out your next Pokémon!"

Ash nodded, and fingered each of his pokeballs, before choosing one. Which he threw on the field, and a majestic Pokémon appeared on the field.

The audience gasped,

"No way!" May said

"A shiny Milotic!" Cried Dawn and Misty in envy.

"How many rare Pokémon does this guy have?" Brock asked to no one in particular.

Lance was shocked, he knew that the water type would have an arsenal of anti-dragon attacks,

"Go Gyarados!"

And Lance's own shiny Pokémon made its presence known.

To say Ash was surprised was an understatement. However, he would not let this sudden change affect him.

"Gyarados hydro pump!" Lance ordered.

Gyarados sent the powerful torrent of water at the majestic Pokémon.

"Regal, dodge then ice beam!" Ash countered.

The shiny Milotic maneuvered out of the way of the hydro pump. She then shot the pale blue ice attack at the atrocious Pokémon. Gyarados roared as it was struck by the powerful attack.

"Gyarados ice fang," Lance ordered hastily.

Gyarados lowered its head and attempted to sink its teeth into Miltoic's skin. But it was not to be

"Dodge then Iron tail!" Ash ordered.

Milotic then smashed her glowing tail into the red Gyarados's flank.

"This is not good," commented Mr. Goodshow, "If Lance doesn't get a hold of himself Red will win this fight easily."

"Gyarados twister!" Lance demanded.

Gyarados put some distance between itself and fired a huge twister towards Milotic. But Ash was not worried.

"Milotic, use water pulse on the ground around the twister, then Ice beam!" Ash ordered.

The attack Twister depends heavily on temperature. It needs above freezing air to be effective (I'm going with the fact that the move is hurricane based). By freezing most of the field it drops the temperature there by strongly weakening the twister attack.

The twister managed to claw its way to the intended target, but the Milotic just brushed off the attack.

Lance growled, time to get creative.

"Use Dragon pulse, then follow with Thunder!" Lance cried

Ash raised an eyebrow, _'Finally decide to show up, huh? Well we'll see just how much you showed up'_

"Milotic dodge then mirror coat!"

The serpent complied, dodging the dragon pulse, and then taking the Thunder. Lance hadn't heard the Mirror coat command, and his thoughts were on his finishing move,

"Use Hyper beam!" Lance called victoriously

Ash chuckled, "Fire!"

Milotic glowed bright white, and launched an attack with twice the power of a Thunder.

Both beams met in the middle. And in a dazzling display of power the beams exploded on contact.

Ash was impressed, his Gyarados was something, but he would still win.

"Fire an Ice beam followed by an icy wind!" Ash called.

It was a lethal combination, a combination that would end his Gyarados.

"And Gyarados is unable to continue! What an attack, it utilized the spread effect of icy wind to disperse the ice beam over a wide area. This rendered the Gyarados's ability to dodge useless!" The announcer cried, impressed by the tactics.

Lance admitted this defeat graciously, he knew he had been outgunned in that match, but now the shiny Milotic was about to be eliminated from the match.

"Go Dragonite!" Lance called, throwing a white sphere into the sky.

One of Lance's many Dragonites appeared in a flash of white light. It then gave an almighty roar, showing its dominance as one of the most powerful Pokémon in the world.

Ash cringed, he looked at Milotic; she was bruised, but still had a bit left in her.

"Regal use water pulse!" Ash called, hoping to gain a field advantage early

The Pokémon instantaneously fired a water pulse.

"Oh no you don't'! Use fire blast!" Lance ordered

The kanji-like fire attack effortlessly evaporated the water attack. Ash smiled, Lance had fallen for his trap,

"Use Hydro pump!" Ash called

Lance instantly realized his mistake. With the two moves fighting for power there was no hope for dodging the water attack if he broke the lock.

"Full power!" Lance called

The fire increased, Dragonite understood this was do or die.

Much to Ash's and the crowd's surprise, the fire attack began pushing back the water attack.

Ash could do nothing but watch as one of the most powerful fire attacks pushed back the water attack and knocked out one of his prized Pokémon.

"Milotic is unable to continue, red trainer please send out your next Pokémon." The ref shouted, raising his flag towards Lance's side.

"And with a surprising turn of momentum Lance turns this fight around!" The announcer shouted, "Will he be able to come into the break with a lead in this fight?"

Ash growled; he hadn't wanted to use three Pokémon in the first half. Surprise was one of his only chances to win this fight.

"I choose you, Ruby!"

An overly large Charizard appeared. It began glaring down at his fellow dragon Pokémon.

"Dragonite dragon rage!" Lance ordered.

Dragonite fired the crackling orange sphere at Charizard.

"Charizard, take to the skies. Ash ordered.

Charizard complied by flapping its mighty wings. It was off the ground with in seconds, causing the dragon attack to pass harmlessly under him.

"Dragonite outrage! Shoot it down!" Lance ordered.

Dragonite's pupils dilated and its whole body glowed orange. Suddenly, one of the most powerful dragon attacks was fired at the airborne Charizard.

Ash said nothing, what could he do? Instead he let his experienced Pokémon counter and dodge on his own. Ash figured he could keep this up until the Dragonite succumbed to confusion.

Lance watched with rage, while Ash watched with contentment as the fire-type countered and dodged all of the outrage attack.

The outrage suddenly ended, signaling the start of confusion.

Ash seized the chance, "Charizard Dragon breath!"

The orange dragon landed and fired a stream of green fire at Lance's Dragonite. Dragonite, exhausted from the outrage attack, stood no chance against the super effective fire.

As soon as Dragonite hit the ground, he was out.

The ref raised his flag in Ash's direction, "Dragonite is unable to battle. Seeing as the green trainer has lost three Pokémon we will now take a 15 minute break!"

"And with a spectacular performance Red has…"

Ash was unable to hear the announcer as he walked back toward his locker room.

He called out his non-fainted team,

"This is intense, we are ahead but we can't give up!"

The Pokémon nodded.

"Fight with everything you have, but for now I want you to picture your moves. I want you to picture them at peak strength, at peak accuracy."

The Pokémon nodded and took up a meditative stance. Ash however sighed and took a drink of water. This was nowhere near over. Ash sighed once again and closed his eyes.

He was shaken from his nap when he heard the horn. Signaling the end of their 15-minute break. Ash got up, returned his still meditating Pokémon, and made his way back to the field.

Once on the field the ref threw his flags down, officially starting the second half.

Ash tuned out the crowd and summoned his choice,

"Rime, stand by for battle!"

Ash's main ice type appeared in the customary flash

"Charizard I choose you!" Lance ordered.

"Rime, water pulse!" Ash ordered.

"Charizard, dodge" Lance ordered

Charizard roared and flapped his wings, shooting his to the side.

"Rime, ice beam!" Ash ordered.

Glalie fired the powerful beam of ice at the Fire-type.

"Fire blast!" Lance ordered he knew he had a chance to capitalize on the ineffective ice-type attack.

"Follow it up with dragon rush!" Lance ordered.

Just after the fire attack made short work of the ice beam Charizard cut the attack, and shot through the flames with blue energy surrounding it.

"Rime, blizzard!" Ash called hastily, worried for the first time this match.

Glalie attack with the impossibly powerful ice attack, but it was not to be. The unavoidable attack plowed through the Blizzard and smashed into Glalie.

Glalie was thrown into the stadium wall. The crowd thought is was over, but Ash knew better,

"Rime, charge with headbut!"

Glalie shot out of the dust with incredible speed

"Charizard fire spin!" Lance ordered.

Charizard sent a swirling vortex of flames at Glalie, but Lance had fallen for another trap,

"Change course then Brine."

Ash smirked and Lance cursed as Glalie charged around the ice beam and positioned itself behind the fire-type. It the fired the water attack brine.

Charizard roared in pain under the water assault. When it ended Charizard was in a heap on the ground.

Ash thought he had it, so did the ref, and just as he was about to announce his verdict the Charizard roared as it became coated in red aura.

Then, without orders it launched an overheat attack.

The attack struck the still awed ice-type. With the power up from Blaze, Glalie stood no chance.

Glalie cried as it was hit. Then the ice-type fell to the super effective attack.

"Glalie is unable to battle!" the ref said in shock.

Ash returned Glalie, and then he threw his next Pokémon,

"Ruby, go!"

"Charizard fire blast!" Lance ordered.

"Counter with your own Fire blast!" Ash called.

Both kanjis met in the middle and as soon as they touched they exploded. Lance's Charizard suddenly shot out of the top of the smoke cloud.

"Follow it!" Ash ordered.

The two Charizards flew around every now and then they would crash into each other with different physical attacks.

"End this Ruby!" Ash shouted, "Dragon rage!"

Ash's Charizard didn't even bother to back up; he just fired his attack immediately.

"Dragon rage as well!" Lance shouted.

The two dragons sent the orbs of fire at each other. The force of the attacks knocked both of them into an uncontrolled descent.

"Ruby, straighten out and grab it!" Ash ordered.

Ash's Charizard managed to straighten out, and get a hold of Lance's.

Lance's Charizard struggled to get free.

"Now seismic toss!" Ash ordered.

Ash's Charizard held onto Lance's and took it for a go around in the sky.

When Charizard started its descent Lance took action.

"Flare blitz!" Lance ordered.

Lance's Charizard's body became coated in fire. Ash's Charizard didn't appear to notice, and continued on course.

Lance grit his teeth has his Charizard became very acquainted with the ground.

"The green trainer's Charizard is unable to battle. Send out your next Pokémon!"

Lance groaned, returned his Charizard and threw his next pokeball.

Once the flash subsided another pseudo legendary stood tall.

"Another Dragonite?" Misty shouted!

Ash however, did his homework. And he came prepared.

"Dragonite don't worry you are strong enough to win," Lance said confidently.

Dragonite roared in agreement.

Ash smile, "Ruby, flamethrower!"

The red dragon Pokémon fired the attack at Dragonite.

"Dragonite dodge then thunder," Lance said.

Dragonite fired the bolt of electricity at Charizard who dodged quickly to the side.

"Charizard now steel wing," Ash ordered.

Charizard flew at a high speed towards Dragonite. But Dragonite would have none of that, and dodged the attack.

Lance smiled, "Fly."

Dragonite it flapped its wings and shot up.

"Stay put on the ground!" Ash ordered.

Charizard looked at his trainer, then nodded.

"Dragonite thunder punch!" Lance shouted.

"Charizard counter with steel wing!" Ash ordered.

Dragonite cocked its fist back, which was crackling with electricity as Charizard's wing began to shine silver.

The two Pokémon clashed in a battle for supremacy. After a couple more seconds of intense both attacks exploded.

Both Pokémon took ludicrous amounts of damage, seeing as both were in close proximity with the blast.

Once the smoke cleared Charizard was down and Dragonite was slowly making its way to its feet.

"Charizard is unable to battle, Dragonite wins Red Trainer, send out your next Pokémon."

Ash recalled his Charizard before calling upon his own Dragon,

"Envoy, I need your assistance!"

The land shark Pokémon appeared menacingly as it glared, trying to intimidate at his opponent.

"Dragonite, use iron tail!" Lance ordered

"Use Dragon rush!"

Garchomp flew at insane speeds towards the Dragonite, whose tail had started to glow. Just before impact Dragonite swung its tail into Garchomp, causing another explosion. While the crowd loved it, Lance was not. He was now down 5 to 4, he needed a miracle from his last Pokémon. However, his opponent had forced his trump card early, so he was relying on an old, really old, friend.

"Go, Aerodactyl."

One of the rarest Pokémon on the planet appeared before Garchomp, this would be good.

"Aerodactyl, use ancient power!" Lance ordered.

As the ancient attack began gathering power Ash made his move,

"Use stone edge!"

Bothe rock based attacks clashed in the middle, canceling each other out, but Ash didn't miss a beat.

"Now Draco meteor then stone edge" He ordered.

His dragon Pokémon complied, launching an orange ball of energy towards the heavens. The ball then exploded, forming meteors of pure dragonic energy. But Garchomp wasn't done, for it fired rapid fire stone edges at the Aerodactyl, pinning it down and forcing it to take the attack.

"Aerodactyl, no!" Lance called in concern. It couldn't end like this. Not by two Pokémon!

The smoke from the powerful combination cleared, revealing a downed but not out Aerodactyl. It was shaking from its many wounds, but its fighting spirit and willpower pushed it forward.

"Yes!" Lance cried, "Now use Earthquake followed by hyper beam!"

The ancient dragon smashed both feet into the ground, generating shockwaves that unbalanced Garchomp. Then it fired an orange beam towards Garchomp. Garchomp attempted to dodge, but he still had no footing. Causing the beam to hit, dealing a massive amount of damage.

Ash ground his teeth; he knew Garchomp was on his last legs, so he pulled a final stunt,

"Envoy, use Dragon rush!"

Using the last bit of energy he had he began flying towards the immobile Aerodactyl. As he flew a familiar blue energy surrounded him. Suddenly, just before impact Garchomp faltered, from sheer exhaustion of all the attacks he used, as well as all the damage he took. However, just as he hit the ground he used what he had left to keep his dragon rush attack going, causing an explosion that took down Aerodactyl.

The ref waited a moment, making sure that both Pokémon were down. And after a moment he announced his verdict,

"Both Pokémon are unable to battle! But seeing as the red trainer has one more Pokémon left, Red Satoshi is the winner!"

The crowd erupted into to cheers, while Lance just walked back to his locker room.

"That Garchomp was something!" ax exclaimed

"Yeah, but how about that Aerodactyl, what power!" Brock said in awe

"I know what you mean, it landed one super effective hit plus a hyper beam. A deadly combination if it lands properly. And that hyper beam had to be a critical hit seeing as how much damage it dealt to Garchomp." Misty inputted.

"We should head to Max's battle now, otherwise he might be late." Dawn said eyeing Max.

Max cursed and ran out of the stadium towards his own battlefield with new inspiration. After seeing his idol beat Lance there was no way he would lose!

_Scene Change_

"What do you mean you lost?" Ash said in shock as he looked at the now depressed Max.

* * *

**AN:**

**Hoped you liked it, review who you think Ash should face not next, but after his next battle (I already have that one written). Also, keep voting on that poll. The more voters the clearer my choice will be. Also tell me what you thought about the battle, I don't think I'm that great at writing them so feedback would be nice**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** **Don't own Pokemon... nope**

* * *

It was late, just after Max's battle, and in the Pokémon center Max was handing his Pokémon to Nurse Joy, he looked really depressed.

Ash just happened to walk by him while he was waiting, and he couldn't help but ask,

"So how did your battle go?" Ash asked him

"I got humiliated!" Max cried in frustration

"Oh, well… umm… Could have been worse?" Ash tried, he wasn't good at this sort of thing.

"I battled Paul I only beat 1 of his Pokémon!" Max said, annoyed with himself.

"Ah, well how close was his second Pokémon to fainting?" Ash tried a different approach.

"Close." Max said, not understanding where the trainer was going with this

"Then you were almost at the point of a normal battle. If you had landed one more hit then Paul probably would have been down to his last Pokémon." Ash pointed out.

This approach seemed to work as Max realized that Ash was right, maybe it wasn't a humiliating defeat,

"Yeah, I guess your right, but Lance didn't seem like he battled his best battle…" Max trailed off, thinking about why Lance seemed to not go all out.

Ash nodded, he agreed with him

"Yeah, I think he underestimated me, plus he played his best Pokémon early in the match, while I saved a powerful anchor for the end of the match." Ash voiced his agreement.

"Yeah, but what happened to Garchomp, I didn't think that an Earthquake and a hyper beam would deal so much damage?" Max asked

Ash blushed in embarrassment, "Well, you see, I forgottogethimhealedatthepok emoncenter."

"What was that?"

"I forgot to get him healed at the Pokémon center after training!" Ash shouted, embarrassed.

Max laughed, "You went up against possibly the best trainer in the world with a half strength Pokémon?"

Ash nodded, red in the face.

It was at this moment that the rest of the group decided to walk in.

"Max, sorry about your loss, you battled well." Brock said.

"Yeah Max, Paul's strong. You shouldn't get so down!" May encouraged.

"I know guys, its not that big of a deal, Red helped me get over it." Max shrugged it off.

The group looked confused until they saw said trainer attempting to sneak out of the Pokémon center.

"Red!" May shouted.

Ash cringed slightly and turned around he had hoped to avoid talking with them for the night, for he knew their parents would be coming tonight, just to make sure their little boy was all right after his battle,

"Yes?"

"How did you manage to help Max get over a loss in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world?" May asked

"Why don't you ask him? I didn't do that much, he just needed a pick me up." Ash shrugged, he was trying not to be a dick and just up and leave, so he looked for something to talk about. He thought he was in trouble until he noticed a few people missing,

"Where are Misty and Dawn?"

"Oh, they went shopping." Brock said as if shopping at 10 pm was an everyday occurrence.

Ash raised an eyebrow, "And you didn't go with them?"

"No, we wanted to check up on Max." May said, while Brock nodded

Ash smiled, May had really matured over the years.

"I got to go and get some rest, my hotels a bit away and I have an early battle. See you tomorrow." Ash said.

The group nodded and watched the trainer walk out the automatic doors to the Pokémon center.

"So Max, what did he tell you?" Asked Brock.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." Max said with a chuckle

"Please, Max?" Pleaded May

"Nope!"

"You tell me or I'm gonna make you!" May seethed as she began chasing her little brother.

Brock sighed, '_I guess old habits do die hard_.'

_Scene Change_

Ash sighed as he lay down on his soft mattress. He had already let out the Pokémon that had fought against Lance, believing they deserved it.

His Lucario was meditating, and the rest were asleep. Ash figured he too should probably get some rest. So he put his head on the pillow and was instantly out.

Meanwhile, some of Ash's Pokémon had woken up, and talked about their trainer's situation.

_Translator On_

"So _Noble, _you are the most in tune with Ash's feelings, what goes through his head when he is with his friends?" Asked Milotic.

"I try to stay out of his head, it would be disrespectful to him." Noble said, being well noble.

Milotic sighed, worried she would not find out, but then a baritone voice rang out through the room.

"Dear Regal, he wishes the be apart of the group again, it claws at him every time they laugh at something, or share a meal with each other. He knows that could be him, that it should be him. But he knows he has slowly integrated his way back into the group." Said Mewtwo.

Milotic nodded, then asked, "What about Cynthia, and has he moved on from _her _death?"

"Not entirely, but his feelings for the Sinnoh champion are slowly breaking down his emotional walls, he will still love Sapphire, but he will have moved on by the end of the tournament. Something in his head will click, something that says it is what she would want." Mewtwo said.

Milotic nodded, but Charizard spoke up, "How do you know this stuff?"

Mewtwo looked at the fire lizard, "I am a legendary Pokémon, it's my job to know stuff."

With this latest revelation the group of Pokémon went to bed, dreaming of endless piles of Pokémon food, unhindered pampering from Ash, and most of all, Ash holding the Grand League trophy with the cheers of the world fueling their victory flame.

_Time Skip/Translator Off_

It was the next day and Ash had gotten up bright and early for his match, it was the last round of three on three battling (His match with Lance had been an exception for obvious reasons) and he in truth was not looking forward to this battle. He had heard about the trainer he was about to face, and he was not that impressive. He beat faced no one tough in his matches and he had it easy throughout the tournament. That is, until today. Looking at the time he decided he should head to the stadium now. So he picked his team, not that he would need them but the rules required three Pokémon, and left for the stadium.

_Scene change_

Ash stood at the entrance to the stadium tunnel, taking his customary deep breath that he took before every battle. It didn't matter how unimportant the battle was, for if there was anything he had learned it was to not break a routine. He was just about to go into battle mode and walk into the tunnel when he heard voices calling his name. He turned around to find the group of his former friends, with the addition of their parents. He immediately tensed up, why the hell were they here; none of their children were competing, and the one that was had been eliminated.

He pushed those thoughts aside and put on his best acting face,

"Hey guys, you have tickets?"

Mr. Maple answered, "Yes young man, because Max participated in the tournament he and a max of 15 friends have free access to a chosen competitors matches, though I can't understand why they chose Red Satoshi. I have never heard of him."

The group sighed; ever since the incident with Ash their parents were always hostile to any newcomers.

"Yeah, I mean he can't be all that can he?" Mr. Harrison asked, agreeing with Norman.

"Oh, he can be all that." Ash said with a smirk.

"And how would you know. I bet you don't even know who he is either." Norman sneered.

The group, minus the parents, laughed at Norman while Ash just raised an eyebrow. Was he really that stupid?

"What's so funny?" Asked Norman.

"That's Red Satoshi!" Max said pointing at the young man in front of them.

Norman eyes widened in shock, "Oh."

Flint however, still had more to say, "So Red Satoshi thinks he's all that huh? Who have you beaten in this tournament?"

The group looked at him like he was the stupidest person alive.

"Oh you know, no one that important, just Lance." Ash said innocently.

The parents got big eyes again, "Oh"

Ash chuckled; 'Oh' seemed to be their new favorite word.

"I am going to be late, and I do not wish to be disqualified. After the match tell me if I still 'can't be all that' alright?' Ash said as he turned on his heel and walked into the stadium.

Once the group was out of sight Pikachu popped his head out of his bag,

_'You okay Ash?' _

Ash sighed, "I'm fine Pi, but my opponent won't be."

Pikachu shivered, releasing that Ash was going to vent on his opponent's Pokémon. And his demeanor would be much different for this battle.

The group watched as Red turned and walked into his side of the stadium. They quickly found seats and got ready for the match.

Ash stood silently as his opponent walked out. He wore flashy cloths and walked like he had just beaten Lance. The Referee raised his flags.

"This is a three on three Pokémon battle between Red Satoshi and Richard Moore will now begin."

Rich smirked at Ash. "Just because you beat Lance doesn't mean your gonna beat me. I don't lose..."

"Holy shit, just shut the hell up and battle." Ash shook his head at the stupidity of his newest opponent as he pulled out a ball, "You have already gotten on my nerves, so I'm going to completely embarrass you. Poet, come out."

A Pokémon with black fur and black skin landed gracefully on the earth field, his shiny Absol. From the right side of its head a sword like growth gleamed in the sun, "Sol."

Rich got a cocky smirk on his face. "A dark type, please. Hitmonlee, destroy them." A humanoid Pokémon appeared in a bright flash of light, and started kicking the air in a show of strength.

"Begin."

"Hitmonlee, end this fast with Hyper Beam." The humanoid Pokémon charged an orange beam, and got ready to fire at full power. Absol sat quietly and waited for the on coming attack. Ash waited until it was almost on top of his Pokémon before issuing a command.

"Mirror Coat."

A silver shield appeared around the disaster Pokémon and absorbed the orange beam. Once the beam was fully absorbed it was sent straight back. Rich looked on in terror as his Pokémon was decimated in one attack, his own attack.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle. The first round goes to Red and his Absol."

Rich's fan club let out a gasp of surprise. "It doesn't matter, one Pokémon is only a set back. Flareon, destroy that dog." A flash of light and a quick flare of fire made the fire-types presence known,

Absol got a tick mark on his head after being compared again to a dog; this gave him an actual reason to win. Not that he was ever going to lose in the first place.

"Flareon, use agility into a flame wheel attack."

On command the little Pokémon disappeared and was behind Absol in a matter of seconds. The speed of it took Ash by surprise and almost hit Absol. Absol, in an incredible display of acrobatics and natural instincts, managed to barely escape the priority attack.

"Fantastic work Poet, use agility and run into a quick attack."

The dark type vanished in an instant and then sped along the ground with steams of white energy flashing around it. Absol leapt into the air and struck Flareon in the side.

"Flareon, get up and use Iron tail." The fire feline launched into the air and hovered above Absol for a moment before bringing down its glowing tail, intending to deal damage. Absol however, took the hit in his stride.

"Absol, Fire blast."

As the Flareon and the trainer stared awestruck, as Absol's crimson eyes flared with fire, and he unleashed the Kanji-like fire attack. The devastating fire attack slammed into the Flareon and ended the battle.

"Flareon is unable to continue."

Ash looked at his Pokémon as Rich recalled Flareon.

"Your Absol's tough, but can it beat Fearow?"

And with that statement Rich threw his final pokeball. A Pokémon with a long beak and large wings appeared after the flash subsided. The flying-type screeched, attempting to intimidate Absol, but the dark-type just gave it a look that says, _'you are gonna get wrecked'_.

"Fearow use quick attack!" Shouted Rich

"Poet, meet it with extreme speed." Ash ordered.

Both Pokémon simultaneously disappeared then not a split second later the two priority attacks clash in the middle. But extreme speed, being faster than quick attack as well as Absol being much more powerful than Fearow, plowed Fearow into the opposite wall with little to no effort.

"Damnit! How can that Pokémon be so fast?" Rich growled, his cocky attitude fading in favor of pure rage. He couldn't lose, not to a nobody, "Use drill peck."

Fearow flew up out of the dust and began charging at Absol, but Ash wasn't worried, "Wait for the last moment to dodge, then smash it into the ground with Iron tail."

As Fearow neared the disaster Pokémon it began to spin at insane speeds, but this didn't bother Absol at all. He waited patiently for his chance, trusting his trainer's judgment. Once the Fearow approached what he figured was close enough he heard a little voice in his head,

'_Now!'_

Absol obeyed; he front flipped over the beak of the Fearow, and then brought his glowing tail down on the bird Pokémon's torso. The steel attack viscously propelled Fearow into the ground, causing a large dust cloud to be created.

Even though the results were obvious, the ref still called out the results, "Fearow is unable to battle! Red Satoshi is the victor."

The crowd cheered at the victory, and Ash shot a victorious glance at his now not so cocky opponent. Not being able to catch his eye though, Ash hurried through the tunnel and out of the stadium… or he would have.

SMASH

"Sheeeiiiit!" Ash cried as he rubbed his head.

"Good battle Red." Brock's deep voice said.

"Hi Brock, thanks, but sorry I ran into you." Ash apologized.

"Yeah, but uh, you didn't run into me." Brock said with a smirk.

"Then who did I—"

"That would be me Red." Cynthia giggled.

"Oh, well then, double shi—" Ash was interrupted again by May covering his mouth.

"Don't, Max is here."

"May, Max is 15, I'm sure he knows the words." Ash responded.

"How did you know how old Max is?" May asked suspiciously.

_'Damn, I didn't want that to slip out' _Ash thought,"Oh, well, he told me."

_'Nice recovery, now you had better leave before they get suspicious.' _A baritone voice entered his mind.

_'You're right Mewtwo' _Ash thought back, "Guys I got to go get Poet healed up."

"Poet? Oh, you mean your Absol." Max exclaimed, remembering that Red had nicknamed his Pokémon.

Ash nodded, "Yes, now if you'll excuse me."

The group nodded and watched Ash walk away

The group stood there in silence before it was broken, "I don't think I told him how old I was."

This revelation startled the group. What does this mean about Red?

"We should go get something to eat, it's around lunch time." Brock said.

The group nodded, and walked in the direction of the food court.

_Scene Change_

Ash was sitting in the Pokémon Center; worried he just ruined his chances at making it to the end of the tournament. But Ash knew better than to dwell on the past, he did that once. It nearly ruined his life, now he would never make the same mistake again. So instead of hanging his head he looked up who he had to battle next, and you could say he was pleasantly surprised.

"Time to find how much better he has gotten."

He left the Pokémon center without turning off the monitor, and on the monitor is the picture of a scowling trainer with the following information

Place of Birth: Veilstone City, Sinnoh

Starter Pokémon: Turtwig

Known Pokémon:

Torterra

Electivire

Ursaring

Magmortar

Honchkrow

Aggron…

Nothing more could be seen as Pikachu ran back and turned off the monitor, then smirked at the author who was trying to give spoilers.

_Scene change & Time Skip_

Ash was currently sitting in the forest, getting read the riot act by Mewtwo.

_"You really messed up Ash." _Mewtwo said, "_Now their suspicious"_

Ash nodded, "I know Mewtwo, it just slipped out."

Mewtwo did nothing, but he understood why Ash did what he did. No matter how much he hates their parents, and only just a few of them; he still feels like a part of the group.

_"Ash, you either need to come clean to them soon, or leave the tournament." _Mewtwo advised. He hated giving his trainer and friend choices like this, but it was necessary and he was mature enough to handle them.

Ash sighed, he knew Mewtwo was right, but he came here to win, and he would not let family matters get in the way,

"Ill start dropping hints, Pi, I want you on my shoulder from now on."

His Pikachu nodded with a _'Chu', _happy to be let out of the smelly and hot and cramped bag. You know now that he thought about it the bag was a lot like a pokeball.

"The nicknames stay though, I've kinda grown to like them. Unless you want them gone?" Ash said sheepishly.

His Pokémon laughed,

_"I like it too Ash" _His Absol said

Sceptile nodded, as did the rest of his Pokémon that were out of their balls.

"We need to get some rest, we fight tomorrow at 9 am, it'slate already. Lets head to the campsite."

_'What's with you and early battles?' _Question Pikachu

"I honestly have no idea, but I don't like them any more than you do."

With that he returned his Pokémon excluding Pikachu, and walked towards a chosen location in the forest. Ash had decided that he would need a fall back location to store valuables, seeing as hotel rooms at a large tournament weren't exactly safe, and he trusted himself more than a few underpaid, overweight security guards. The camp also provided a way to get away from everyday stress, and besides there was no reason not to build a camp. However, when they got to the camp, Ash was surprised to find it completely ransacked.

To say Ash was angry was an understatement, "Who the fuck did this?"

Pikachu was too shocked to say anything; Ash had covered this camp in an aura cloak if you will, which made it invisible to the human eye. This meant humans did not do this. Pikachu looked at his trainer, knowing he was thinking the same thing.

"Come on Pi, we have a Pokémon to hurt." Ash said with malice laced in every syllable

Pikachu wasn't one for revenge, but this Pokémon had no reason to do what it did, plus there were a lot of Ash's valuables hidden in the camp, all of which were gone.

However, Pikachu knew Ash was completely serious when he saw his trainer's Aura visibly flare around his body.

* * *

**AN:**

**Yes, not one of my better chapters. Tell me how bad it was through reviews. However, I do have some even worse news. I have the next chapter mostly written, but I can't seem to get it over 2,000 words. I will continue to work on it but I don't want to make it too fluffy and boring, so don't expect a lot from the next chapter. Anyway the winner of the legendary Pokemon poll thingy will be mentioned at the end of the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yes, in this chapter there is a lot of babbling. This was only because of the lack of words in this chapter. With Paul's battle so close to the start of this chapter I couldn't afford to make a lengthy pre battle chapter. So here you go.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon **

* * *

Pikachu looked worriedly at his trainer, thinking that maybe they should just leave it alone. He was angry too, but the badges were replaceable, it wasn't worth the inevitable cost.

Ash however had different things on his mind. Those badges were indispensible, and the medical equipment had cost a fortune. There was no way even Arceus was getting away with this.

Ash was beyond angry now, and Pikachu began to realize something. This was worth the cost. Ash had lost everything for those badges, and now he was willing to lose everything to get them back.

Ash suddenly cried in pain and put his hands on his head. He was brought to his knees has the pain worsened. Pikachu was worried, but stayed back. He knew what was happening, it was one of the drawbacks of using aura.

Eventually Ash stopped screaming, and stood up with much less malice in his eyes.

"Come on Pi, I know where to look."

Pikachu took note of the tone of his trainer's voice. It was not angry, so he must have seen what had happened to their supplies and badges.

Pikachu hopped up on his trainers shoulder, and Ash checked to make sure he was comfortable, and after receiving a nod Ash pulled out a pokeball.

"Rise, Ruby!"

His orange lizard appeared in front of him. Ash gave him quick rundown of what had happened. Charizard growled, but complied as he let Ash onto his back.

"Now head due north!" Ash ordered, pointing his finger in said direction.

Charizard roared and with a mighty flap of his massive wings, was in the air.

The flight was quiet and as they approached their destination, the base of Mount Silver, Ash felt multiple Aura signatures flaring inside of the mountain.

Pikachu noticed where Ash was observing, _'In there?'_

Ash nodded, and he ordered his mighty Pokémon to land. After a brief thanks his Charizard was back in his ball, and Ash looked at the mountain with a calculative gaze. Without warning, his body became coated with a brilliant silver light. The silver energy that was rapidly seeping out of his body began collection into a sphere between his hands.

Pikachu, seeing what his trainer was about to do quickly got behind him.

Ash didn't even flinch as a massive beam of silver power shot at the mountain. A loud explosion shook the ground, and the entire mountain was hidden from view by the massive mushroom cloud.

_'Looks like the mountain has gotten a new cave.' _Pikachu mused.

"So it seems," Ash growled, "Let's go."

Pikachu hopped up on Ash's shoulder just before he took off with in human speed. They sped through he mountain,the speeds at which Ash was traveling could not be followed by the human eye, so Ash and Pikachu were relying on Ash's aura vision.

As they dodged another stalagmite Pikachu cried out a warning, which Ash took as Pikachu losing his hold on his pack. So he slowed his pace to an average sprint, but seeing as it was still dark Ash had to continue to use his aura vision.

Eventually he came upon the spot where the aura signatures had been. So in a true testament to Ash's aura prowess, he launched a ball of silver aura towards the roof of the cave. Once Ash's eyes stopped glowing, the sphere topped moving. Suddenly it pulsed a massive silver light, and illuminated the whole cave.

It was only after this event did Ash open his eyes. And once he did he saw something that he didn't expect. Cowering in one of the cave corners were a whole colony of Sableye

He was surprised again as he heard a low moan from a different corner of the cavern. When he looked in said corner he saw at least a dozen that seemed to be in great pain.

Ash gave the scared Sableye a look and said mentally, _'I can help'_

The Sableye instantly calmed after hearing a voice in their mind, a human with the ability to use aura was no foe.

Ash gave the group a nod, then walked over to the converted medical area. The Pokémon seemed to be suffering from symptoms that he recognized from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. After a moment of searching diligently through his memory he finally figured out where he had seen it before, he then grimaced this was bad,

"Poison, and I have no antidotes."

Pikachu cringed, but understood why his trainer had no antidotes; it was rare for poison types to be on Mount Silver or in the deserts of Orre. There was simply no need for them. Regardless of why his trainer didn't have them, Toxic was a very strong, very condensed version of smog. It was very dangerous, and without proper supplies, it could be fatal. Then he took notice items tossed haphazardly into a corner, which he identified as every different type of potion available potions. As well as some Oran berries, a lot of Oran berries. There were some Sitrus berries as well, then it donned on him, these were their supplies!

_'Ash, these Sableye ransacked this camp for medical supplies. There are a lot of empty potions and half eaten berries in that far corner.' _

"So you were looking for medical supplies?" Ash said, even though most of the malice had disappeared from his voice. What was left was gone with that statement.

As far as he knew, Sableye didn't have an addiction to shiny objects, so his invitational tournaments and interregional badges would be some place else. However, he had a much more pressing issue on his hands.

With that thought he turned back to the poisoned Pokémon, and he knew their situation was dire. So he tried something that was dangerous to his life energy, if done incorrectly his aura spirit would break out of his body, and there would be two Ash's now this is fatal because after a while the body, without a soul would wither away. And the soul, now with nothing to restrain it, would float into the Ethereal Fields. It was a heaven-like developed by the first aura knight that would preserve the aura soul so the aura could be properly disposed of.

Ash however, knew that if he didn't help these Pokémon, the disease would spread throughout the whole mountain. So he closed his eyes and began to glow red, signaling his healing aura was being released. But instead of forming into the sphere like before, it floated like a cloud over the whole cavern. As soon as the red mist had filled up the upper part of the cavern Ash, who was still in a trance, uttered two words,

"Cleansing rain."

Then the red clouds began to shower the cavern in red rain. It was a truly beautiful display of elegance and power. Pikachu flinched slightly as the rain should have completely soaked him, but nothing happened. There was no water, and it was simply incredible. Pikachu let out a pleased cry as he became completely relaxed, and all the years of wear and tear faded out of reality. All of those months of solitude just melted out of his head. It was like they had never happened.

Ash's eyes began to shine a bright white, and a red aura began to seep from his body, the red aura infused itself with the mist making the mist thicker, and the rain stronger. Ash started to float a few inches off the ground and as a chorus of deafening happy cries bounced around the cave Ash heard none of it, for he was in another place.

_Ash's POV_

At first I was in shock as my vision just sorta blanked out. At first I thought I had died, but then I quickly terminated the mere thought of death. Yet as sight found it's way back to me, I found myself pondering the same thoughts that I had tried to rid my mind of, Death.

It seemed so real. It was so cliché it looked like it was straight out of a movie. A place of almost nothingness, there was nothing but red mist below me as well as above. Around me it looked like I was surrounded by an infinite amount of stars in an infinite amount of directions. Suddenly everything around me started to blend together. I couldn't tell if everything around me was moving, or if I was gong crazy. I'm gonna go with the latter. Then, the big white blotch that everything had now become burst like an explosion in a brilliant shower of sparkles and stardust. I was too busy being awed by the brilliant display in front of me that I failed to notice a hauntingly familiar figure making her way towards me. And as soon as I caught sight of her I nearly died of happiness… again.

_'Sapphire' _

I had rehearsed this moment a million times in my head, but for some reason I couldn't say anything. My tongue felt paralyzed, and my throat as dry as Death Valley.

"Don't speak Ash. There is no need." Sapphire said in her beautiful tantalizing voice.

I nodded, unable to do anything else.

"I have watched you, and in your quest for vengeance you nearly destroyed who and what you represent. I have taken this moment of pure peace to contact you. Of course, this wouldn't have been possible unless Arceus owed you." She ended in her heart-melting laugh. Arceus I could listen to that laugh for all eternity.

"Back to my self assigned mission. I knew that you were too stubborn to do this on your own so I waited for a moment to tell you myself. You have to move on Ash, I can't let you live like this. If you truly want you and I to be happy you must move on, because you know what they say. If you truly love something then you have to let it go." She finished with a sad smile.

"Why?" I croaked. Oh, look who finally showed up.

"Because, I truly deeply love you Ash, but as much as I love you I also want what best for you. And moving on is the best thing for you."

I was shocked. This whole time I had been so focused on vengeance that I failed to notice what was holding me back. I was so deep in thought that if not for my great senses I would not have seen her slowly disappearing. I had to do something.

"No! Stay, please stay!" I cried, tears flowing freely down my face.

She shook her head, but she became fully visible, no longer opaque. She glided gracefully over to where I was standing, err hovering, and wiped the tears from cheek.

"Do not fear Ash, you will love again as will I but we will see each other again. Now heed what I say." She said, then she pressed her moist lips to Ash's dry ones, perhaps for the last time.

"I love you Ash." She said and began to disappear again.

Ash, knowing what he had to do, was not going to waste this moment on desperate pleas.

"I love you too." He said, his voice no longer cold and heartless like the last time he had been around her, but it was full of warmth, sincerity and most of all, happiness.

_Normal POV_

Suddenly, the rain slowed to a stop and the red mist began to descend downward. Before it ultimately disappeared into the stone floor. Pikachu, like the rest of the Pokémon cried out gleefully. The ill Sableye began standing up and jumping for joy, but Ash didn't move.

Pikachu became worried, as Ash hadn't moved for several minutes. He went over to his friends and gave him alight tap on the shoulder. This seemed to startle the trainer out of his trance, and he floated down to the ground. He turned slowly to look at his starter Pokémon when his sunglasses suddenly shattered revealing his eyes, but they weren't the color that he had changed them to. Now they were a set of shining, brilliant silver. Ash smiled as if a curse had been lifted, but his eyes told the whole truth, a curse _had _been lifted. Suddenly he hugged Pikachu and the pair rolled on the floor, laughing as if they had just saved the world. But maybe they had, for they had just saved Ash's.

Ash laughed even harder having just realized that he had just completed his final medical advancement, now he had unlocked the final stage in his training.

Ash began to cry tears of utter joy,

_'Even death she still finds her own unique way to inspire me'_

This meant he could now perform the 'Cleansing Rain' ability with much less chance of injury.

He finally composed himself and stood up, setting Pikachu gently on the ground,

"Let's go Pi, we need to get back, our battles in 45 minutes." Ash said looking at his watch.

His starter nodded, and the two exited the mountain the same way they came in. Including the ride on Charizard back to their campsite. But suddenly he remembered something worrying.

"We never found our badges!"

_'Shit!'_

"I guess there are drawbacks to every aura based move." Ash chuckled, still feeling the relaxing and healing effects of the red rain.

_'Yeah, I guess, but we have a battle to get to. The badges can wait!'_

Suddenly the air in front of the pair shimmered, revealing something they thought that they would never see again.

_"Ash, I… I need you assistance!"_

"Latias!" Cried Pikachu and Ash in unison.

_"No, its Arceus!" _Said Latias in annoyance,_ " Yes of course its me, now once again, I need your help!" _Latias pleaded

"Umm I can help in two hours, but I have a match in 30 minutes. If I'm late I'm disqualified. And I can't have that happen." Ash said, notifying the dragon of his predicament.

"That's unimportant compared to what is happening, I can have Dialga stop time for you—"

Latias was interrupted by Ash, "What is so important that you need my help so urgently."

Latias sighed, she hadn't wanted to reveal this to her friend, but it seemed that it would be mandatory for her to,

_"Alright Ash, you really want to know?" _Asked the Legendary Pokémon, trying to avoid using this information. She knew there were dark waters ahead, and she had planned to use the information as motivation for Ash to stay, but not everything always goes as planned

"Yeah, I haven't got all the time in the world." Ash said impatiently.

_"Its about Latios."_

* * *

** AN:**

**As you can see, I came up with a rather short, but hopefully reasonable filler that would take the place of what I originally had in mind. However, I found a little loophole in my own error. I can use the legendary Pokémon Dialga to aid Ash in helping Latias with Latios. This way I can put the winner of the legendary poll in the chapter that I promised. :) So if you hate it fine. But just remember, don't hate the player, hate the game. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:**

**Wait! If you skipped to this chapter then you should really read the previous chapter. I made an adjustment that was noted in this chapter. So if you want to understand the sentence then read the previous chapter again, if not then its not like I can stop you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Yep, sad right**

* * *

Ash was shocked, Latios was dead right? He saw the eon dragon die with his own eyes, and grieved with his own tears. Ash decided to voice his puzzlement.

"How can Latios need my help? He's, you know, gone."

Laias nodded, _"Indeed he _was _gone, but he says he needs your help, I am just as puzzled as you are Ash. But if there is anything I have learned in my time with my brother is to trust him."_

Ash raised an eyebrow, this was odd, something about this whole thing was just unnatural, "You are sure you don't know why, because if your keeping something from me I wont be pleased Latias."

_"Relax Ash, Latios said he would tell me as soon as you arrived in Altomare." _

"Alright, but how do you expect us to be able to move with Dialga freezing time?" Ash asked

_"Interesting question, I too had this worry, but after a talk with Dialga he said that if Giratina helped us get safely through the reverse world, where we wont be affected, then he would have a battle with him." _Latios explained with an amused expression

Ash chuckled, "And of course Giratina agreed."

Latias nodded, _"Yep, otherwise I would have bothered you after the tournament."_

"Alright then Latias, what are we waiting for, let us go to a nearby shiny thing so we can get this show on the road." Ash said. He was eager, for the first time in a long time, to see Latios.

_"Patience, Ash" _Latias giggled, _"We have to wait for Dialga's signal, then we will be able to proceed."_

Ash nodded, then he noticed something, "Latias your English has improved massively, what are you in school or something?"

_"Yep!" _The dragon Pokémon chirped.

Ash's jaw hit the floor. He had been joking. How could a Pokémon go to school?

_"I have perfected my transformation abilities, now I can transform into a human different then Bianca and I can speak as well in my human form." _Latias giggled at the now even more shocked expression on Ash's face.

"How did you… never mind." Ash started, but dismissed it with a wave as he remembered the dragon type was also a powerful psychic.

_"Ash?" _Latias asked, her expression darkening, becoming more serious.

"Yes Latias?" Ash perplexed, her mood had done a complete 180, something was up.

_"I am going to ask you a personal question, tell me if you are okay with it alright?" _

Ash realized what was wrong, she really had grown up, "Sure thing, I won't mind."

Ash had no idea that he was about to eat those words after Latias's question.

_"Well, you see, it's just that you seem lighter than you were after Sapphire's death. What happened?" _There, she had set it. All her chips were on the table now. No going back.

Ash sighed; he knew this would be coming. But he said he would answer the question no matter the topic, so that's is what he planned to do. So he took a deep breath, and gave his answer

"After Sapphire died I will admit that I locked myself away, and began to hate other people. But someone helped me see the brighter side of life, but a vision that I had helped me realize something I hadn't thought about before. She would have wanted me to move on. She loved me and you know what they say. If you truly love someone you have to let them go." Ash finished with tears rolling down his cheek. Pikachu smiled at his master, and rubbed his cheek to Ash's. The trainer smiled his first true smile in a long while. In fact, he had forgotten what it had been like to smile. And truthfully, it felt great. Getting this weight off his chest was like the constant and overpower stress of his life was gone. So the tears slowed, and he slowly began to laugh. A true, deep, old Ash laugh, a laugh from a time next to forgotten to everyone but Pikachu and Ash. All of this was possible because of one smile and two friends.

Suddenly Latias grabbed Ash's hand and started walking towards the nearest reflective object. Ash showed no signs of struggling, because he knew that the eon Pokémon had somehow gotten the signal.

_"It is time." _Latias said, confirming Ash's thoughts.

"I'm ready, how about you, Pi?" Ash said turning to his yellow starter. After getting a confirming nod from him he turned to Latias and nodded, as if confirming what he said.

Latias chuckled, _"You know Ash, even if you weren't ready we would still have to go, Giratina only passes by once every now and then, and if you must know, he has better things to do than drag two Pokémon and a human through his domain."_

Ash nodded again, understanding that being a legendary Pokémon could be stressful.

Suddenly, the glass began to swirl and suddenly they could see green floating islands with a distorted purple background.

_"Ash Ketchum, welcome back to the Distortion World, or Reverse World. Whichever one works for you."_ A deep, baritone voice much like that of Mewtwo's said.

"Well, after I saved you a few years ago I'll admit I always wanted to be able to freely travel to the Reverse World, I'm jealous Giratina." Ash said as he beheld the beauty of the Distortion World for the second time in his short life. He was so engrossed in his observations he failed to notice Latias yanking on his arm.

_"You know Mr. Tourist I bet it looks a whole lot better from the inside!"_

Ash chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh yeah, sorry."

Pikachu snickered while Giratina grinned (Mentally of course. His mouth looks metal to me and I doubt that he can actually make facial expressions).

Ash allowed himself to be sucked into the Reverse World and the sensation he got was very unique. His whole body was immediately chilled, but it was not uncomfortable. It was cooling and relaxing, in fact, he was so relaxed that Giratina had pulled the three onto his back with one of his black tentacles without him noticing. He was jolted out of his stupor as he felt the wind in his face as the renegade Pokémon took off at startling speeds. Strangely however, Ash felt no fear, not even the adrenaline rush that came with holding on for dear life. That was probably because he wasn't. It was odd, normally at the speed that the islands were blazing by he would probably have flown off at the last turn they took. But Ash had to keep reminding himself that this was the reverse world, and things were much different here. He liked it; he would definitely talk to Giratina about a way to get in any time he wanted.

Sadly enough for him, the ride ended too quickly, and the zooming islands and Pleasant winds abruptly halted.

_"Sorry Ash, but this is your stop. Secret Garden, Altomare. Hope you have fun kid. I pulled a lot of strings to get you here. Now, I have to prepare to kick that god of time's ass!"_ Giratina shouted in glee as he turned to leave.

Ash however, had learned that holding your tongue gets you nowhere

"Hey G-thing."

_"What did you call me?" _the large Pokémon asked with a sweat drop

"Unimportant. Since you seem lonely here I was wondering if you would like company." Ash said, implying what he wanted

_"Alright Ketchum, you drive a hard bargain. I'm going to tell you something no one alive knows about alright?" _Giratina said seriously

Ash noticed the change in mood and went into what he dubbed, business mode.

"I'm waiting."

_"Alright Mr. Patience. Seeing as you are extremely advanced in aura I figured that this would be an asset. There is an aura technique that allows you to enter the reverse world, but it requires a different kind of Aura." _Giratina explained

"What kind?" Ash asked, now officially interested

_"I won't explain I to you now, but if you ever have the time to come back I would be happy to give you the basic methods. But after that you would have to tutor yourself."_ Giratina said, eying the young guardian with a critical eye.

Ash noticing the legendary Pokémon observing him realized that he had to play this correctly. This was his first test to see if he was ready. So he straightened up and continued the conversation.

"How do you expect me to get back here after I leave? I have no way of contacting you."

_"I know you have legendaries who are a part of your unit. Send them to the Hall of Origin, they can contact me from there and they know how to contact me from there. After you send them leave the rest up to me and your selected legendary." _The dark dragon explained.

Ash nodded, "Very well. I am thankful for your service. Travel safely."

Following his statement Ash bowed deeply as a visual sign of his respect, then he turned and left through the portal.

_"You tread dangerous waters young guardian, but the worst is behind you."_ The Monarch of the Reverse world said cryptically. (AN: Well it wont be cryptic after you have read the prequel (Which will be out as soon as this is finished))

_Scene Change: Out of the Distortion World_

As Ash exited the Reverse World and entered his normal realm he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He felt the heat rush throughout his body once again and he missed the cold. He felt no multidirectional breeze. He saw no majestic floating islands. Suddenly he realized why Giratina never left his domain. The world was filled with so many imperfections that it left much to be desired. Of course, no one would know of these imperfections without knowledge of the Reverse World. Which to most was only a myth. But Ash sighed and shook these thoughts from his head. He had more important things to deal with.

"Latias we have to move fast, my battle with Paul starts in 30 minutes. I need to be there in 20. We have no time to lose." Ash said as he hurried over to the Soul Dew

Latias giggled loudly, causing Ash to give her an odd expression,

_"Relax Ash, just like the Reverse World the Secret Garden is also protected from the effects of other legendaries. Therefore while Dialga's time halt is still very much active, we are unaffected and can move freely _inside_ the garden"_

"Alright then, tell me what we have to do. I feel like the longer we wait the more dire Latios's situation will become." Ash said firmly

Latias nodded she too felt the same, but had no true understanding of what her late brother needed or wanted. So she did the only thing she could, begin her explanation of what Latios had told her through her dream.

_Latias POV: Latias's Dream_

_I went to sleep just like every night, so I was prepared to have a normal dream. Boy was I wrong._

_When I awoke, err, took note of my surroundings it was a circle that was red and blue mist. On the ground were two triangles; one red, and one a hauntingly familiar blue. The blue colored channels were churning with blue water while the red one was empty. And when I looked into the sky I saw another triangle, but this one was an unfamiliar black. Then I had a flashback_

Flashback within a Flashback

I was young, maybe a little too young, but my brother had always been serious and mature for his age. Even though he was only a few years older than me, Latios would play chess with daddy and talk about the new and upcoming trainers.

But he always played with me when he could. He was such a nice brother. Oh wait a minute, Daddy is talking to us, and maybe I should be listening?

"…The only way to truly protect the soul dew is through the power of Aura. If one of you or both of you befriends a guardian, then Altomare can be truly safe…"

Daddy was so nice, and he was so beautiful, or so Lorenzo would constantly tell brother and me. His snow-white chest feathers were so white that one could practically be blinded when light reflected off of them. And his incredibly unique black body feathers.

_Wait… Black?_

And his dazzling one of a kind _black triangle_

_Black triangle? No, not POSSIBLE!_

Flashback within a flashback end, Normal Flashback resumes

_The black triangle that had been branded into my memory had apparently been braded into where every I am as well._

_"Sister, we need to talk." A deep, masculine voice said._

_A deep, masculine voice that I missed so dearly_

_"Latios I… How are you… Why did you leave me!"_

_I remember I cried into his chest, overwhelmed by the emotions that flooded the ration part of my mind._

_"I'm glad to see you too, but you must listen. I never had the chance to tell you this but as guardians of Altomare it is our duty to protect Altomare, right?"_

_I remember nodding, still too shocked that he was here and he was palpable_

_"Now listen, my power is waning, I don't have a lot left so I must say this immediately. Remember what father told us. Remember the only true way to save Altomare. This is your key to _our _future."_

_I remember he emphasized the 'our'. As if it involved him just as much as me._

_Suddenly_

Flashback end (Normal POV)

_"ASH!" _Latias screeched

Ash jumped in surprise and nearly fell into the fountain that held the precious Soul Dew.

"WHAT! What is it!?" Ash cried, looking around frantically for the danger.

"You are the key to _our _future!" the dragon cried in glee as she flew around. Ash meanwhile was stunned.

_'What the hell?' _he thought

_"Ash, I want you to pour some of your life and healing aura into the Soul Dew!"_ Latias ordered as she pulled the trainer over to the gem-like sphere.

"Alright, but why…"

_"Just do it!" _Latias cut him off.

With a mumbled okay, Ash began the process. Suddenly, the energy seeming out of Ash became visible, and it took the form of Latias. But it wasn't Red, for some reason it was blue. But that could only mean one thing.

_"Latios is returning!"_ Latias cried in glee

Ash was too focused to notice, and sweat had begun to rain from his chin and cheeks. While Latias was off celebrating, Latios was beginning to shimmer into reality. And when Ash finally put most of his aura into his task he looked up to see Latios beaming down upon him. That was when Ash knew he had lost it. Ash… Blacked out

_Ash ran to the nearest Pokémon Center_ Wait no, no. On with the story!

After Ash came too he was shocked to see Latias flying around. He figured he must still be tired because he was seeing double. Only one was blue. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and sat up. Only to have Latios pick him up and put him near the Soul Dew

_"Fantastic Ash, now there is only one thing left to do!"_ Latios chirped as if everything was normal

Ash however, didn't think everything was normal,

"How… you… dead… Latios, alive… Not dead… Whuh?" Ash blabbered while pointing at the Latios.

_"Yes, I happen to be very much alive, and not dead. So snap out of it, otherwise your effort will have been for nothing!"_ Latios encouraged.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, perplexed. Latios was alive, what else was there to do.

_"The only way to truly protect Altomare is through the use of Aura. So after the incident in Altomare that you are familiar with the Soul Dew went all OCD on us. And started to go 110% by the book. So it needed a source of aura to do that. So I didn't actually die. The Soul Dew recognized me as the strongest aura in Altomare, and fed off of it. So it pulled me into it making me, technically, the new Soul Dew." _Latios explained, still without a care in the world.

"So where do I come in. Oh wait; no I got it. How much and what kind?" Ash said sadly.

Latios chuckled, _"This is a tall order, but I need some of your life aura. Not the one that aids in healing, but your _Life_ aura."_

Ash nodded, "Alright, so do I give it to you or the Soul Dew."

_"Me"_ Latios said, _"Then from my direct link with the Soul Dew I can transfer the energy through that link"_

Ash nodded and began the transfer process. Latias could only watch in amazement as a silver line of energy began to make its way out of Ash and then into Latios. Then exit Latios in the form of a blue line of energy and into the Soul Dew. And as soon as the energy made contact with the Soul Dew it flared with a blinding flash of light, then nothing. And the Soul Dew's color had changed from blue, to silver.

Both Pokémon cheered while Ash fell down onto his hands and knees, breathing deeply in exhaustion.

_"Well Ash, you did it. And for your help I would like to give you a reward." _Latios said

Ash looked up, "Oh? And what would that be?"

Latios was engulfed in a blue light that almost instantly faded, revealing two spheres orbiting the Eon dragon.

_"I think this would be the best token of our appreciation." _Latios said, gesturing to the now identified pokeballs.

Ash was speechless, but nevertheless accepted with a bow, "I would be honored."

_"As would we, chosen one." _Latios agreed.

Then the red ball began to orbit Latias and in a flash of white light the dragon pair were gone, and in their place were two occupied Premiere balls. One with blue lining, the other with red.

* * *

**AN:**

**Alright, I hope you enjoyed because this was a painful chapter to write. COnsidering that its like 2 in the morning i wanted nothing more than to stop the chapter mid way through. But for my reader's sake I pushed on! *Dramatic Pose* Review my readers. As far as I know my normal schedule of a chapter a week resumes!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Ladies and Gentlemen, its Quarterfinals time. As well as the not so long awaited Ash vs Paul match up. I think you'll be surprised by the outcome. Hope you enjoy! Also, according to my word count thing this is my longest chapter yet! Which raises the standard... Shit!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.**

* * *

Ash had gone through this whole ordeal and had totally forgotten about Pikachu.

"Oh man that rat is gonna shock me to death!" He shouted, mentally pounded himself.

**Wait! If you skipped to this chapter then you are missing a large chunk of the storyline. Please skip to chapter 7 if you don't want to miss out! **

_"Chill out Ash, Pikachu is relaxin' in the spring that's a little farther deeper in the garden. After he gets out I doubt he be in the mood to shock anything. Much less you."_ Latios chuckled, floating up to the Pallet native.

Ash looked at him weird, "You know I have a battle soon right? I kinda need Pikachu to be in hunter killer mode."

_"Please, I heard who your up against. Paul might be half way decent, but I bet you $20 that you wont lose three Pokémon against this wannabe." _Latios said, and to prove that he had the money for the bet he pulled a $20 bill out of nowhere.

"How?"

_"Don't ask"_

"But?"

_"It's a fanfiction, just leave it at that."_

Ash seemed content with that. Then he looked at Latios

"You got any idea how to contact Giratina?" Ash asked

_"Yeah, but why are you getting in touch with the lone wolf among the legendaries, outside of Darkrai obviously. But that moon Pokémon is getting Darkrai to lighten up. Pretty soon Giratina is gonna be one lonely lone wolf."_

"He's my only way back to the Indigo Plateau. If we were on actual time my battle with Paul would have been over a day ago. But because we had to come and save your ass we had to convince Dialga to stop time, then Giratina to help us get here. Now we need tog et back." Ash explained

Latios nodded, _"I'll see what I can do. Give me ten and I'm pretty sure we'll be heading over to the local reflective thingy in no time."_

Ash nodded and laid himself down on the grass. It had been quite a long time since he had done anything like this. You know, just sitting and relaxing. With no strings attached as well, it was kinda nice. However, a smirking legendary interrupted his relaxation.

_"Time to go Ash. Let's get Latias and Pikachu." _Latios said, gesturing towards the spring.

After collecting Pikachu and Latias they group now found themselves in front of a rather large mirror. They stood patiently, waiting for the swirl that would indicate Giratina's arrival. And they didn't have to wait long, because soon they were stepping across the boundary and into the Reverse World. Giratina collected Ash and Pikachu, who were floating around, and place them on his back. The legendary looked towards his fellow legendaries, and with a nod he shot off, closely tailed by two smaller blurs as they rocketed through the Reverse World.

_Time skip_

"It's about time that something other than us is moving, right Pi?" Ash asked

He got an enthusiastic nod; it was a little strange being the only humans who were moving on the planet. But now they could forget all of that, and focus on their upcoming match against Paul. Latios seemed confident, but he had been dead for 6 years. What did he know?

He suddenly saw a shadow whip around the corner, and this time he was able to safely get out of the way of yet another painful collision. Said shadow turned to apologize, but when she saw him she couldn't help but grin.

"Hey, Red. Sorry about that. At least you were paying attention." She said

"No problem Cynthia. At least paying attention didn't result in a bloody nose." Ash chuckled. Cynthia joined him and it once again felt good to be with someone you could trust.

"Red, I'm going out to lunch with Brock and co. I was wondering if you would be interested?" Cynthia asked with a hoping gleam in her eyes

Ash sighed in disappointment, "As much as I really want to, I can't. I have a battle with Paul and I need to be at stadium C in 20 minutes."

Cynthia sighed as well, "Oh, I didn't know you had a match. I'll talk to Brock and Dawn and everyone else and see who can and cant come to your match."

"Don't take time out of your day just to come see me battle. I'm nothing special." He said, "Look, I love talking with you, but I really need to go."

With that Ash turned away and hurried in the direction of his stadium. He turned away so fast that he failed to notice the slight blush on Cynthia's face from his unintentional hint.

_Scene Change: Stadium C_

"Ladies and gentleman welcome to the semifinal matchup between Red Satoshi and Paul Shinji." The announcer shouted with enthusiasm.

Paul walked to his end of the battlefield with his customary scowl. While Red took the time to wave to the crowd before he took his position.

"Ready to get your ass kicked so hard you not even gonna feel it Satoshi?" Paul sneered

Ash just smirked, "I'm not gonna feel it, but your Pokémon are, _Shinji." _

"Whoa! Looks like there's some sparks flying between these two opponents. Now all the trainers who have are battling in this tournaments quarter finals have had it rough, but none have had it rougher than Red Satoshi!"

More cheers

"Paul was a favorite in the Sinnoh league. He trounced the competition and made it to the top 16. He has traveled the world to prove that he is the best. Can anyone stop this trainer? Lets find out!"

Cheers were scarce, but they were there.

From here the ref took over, "We will now spin the wheel to decide who will go first…"

"Unnecessary, ref." Paul interrupted, "I'm gonna beat this guy so bad and so fast that I might as well give him the advantage of seeing my first Pokémon."

The ref didn't look happy but sighed, "The green trainer has elected to chose first. Begin!"

"Magmortar, standby for battle." Paul called quickly.

"Feral, I choose you." Ash called, throwing his ball.

Then, Paul wasted no time in attempting to draw first blood, "Flamethrower, both hands."

The attack was more like a wild fire then a controlled Flamethrower.

"_Flamethrower_."

"Feraligatr, whirlpool." Ash countered.

Even the powerful looking Flamethrower was unable to break through the swirling water, but the water based attack proceeded to crash into Magmortar.

Paul growled as the fire-type howled in pain

"Use Firepunch."

"Feral, Ice punch!"

Even with the type disadvantage, Feraligatr still hit Magmortar away like it was nothing.

"Stand up and give it a Fire Blast." Paul ordered.

Magmortar stood up and looked like it was about to launch an attack, but as soon as he leveled his arms he fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Magmortar Pokémon is able to continue. Please select your next Pokémon."

"And Magmortar is out after just two attacks!" Shouted the announcer. "How will Paul deal with this powerhouse?"

"With a type advantage!" Paul sneered, "Torterra, standby for battle."

Paul's favorite Pokémon appeared, and assumed the attack position that Magmorter had once taken up.

Ash sighed; the type advantage wouldn't help him here.

"Torterra, Earthquake."

"Feral, stand your ground, get ready to rush in as soon as the attack ends!" Ash ordered

Paul scowled as the Feraligatr took the Earthquake like it was nothing. This was just absurd!

As soon as the shaking stopped, the gator Pokémon shot off towards Torterra with incredible speed,

"Combine metal claw with Giga impact!" Ash called to the Johto starter.

Paul could only watch in horror as he ordered another useless attack on the seemingly invincible starter Pokémon in a desperate attempt to slow the Pokémon. But it didn't help at all. Instead Feraligatr seemed to only gain speed as he smashed into Torterra. The collision resulted in a massive explosion, causing Paul to actually begin to worry about his Pokémon.

"Torterra!"

After the dust cleared Feraligatr was shown standing over a downed Torterra,

"Feral, give it some air, see if it still has some fight in it." Ash called

His water-type complied, backing away from the Sinnoh starter.

After a couple tense moments (For Paul) Torterra finally managed to claw its way back to its feet. This left Ash mildly impressed,

"Feral, let it attack you first. Lets see what we have to work against." Ash said

His Pokémon nodded but soon relaxed, seeing that the Torterra was breaking no land speed records.

Suddenly, without warning, Torterra started to glow green and massive vines shot out of the ground surrounding the starter at insane speeds. The thick vines then smashed Feraligatr into the ground, and then proceeded to further brutalize the startled water-type. Ash was also shocked, and by the time the onslaught ended Feraligatr was struggling to get back onto his feet, and Torterra had exhausted itself into unconsciousness.

The startled ref quickly announced his verdict, "Torterra is unable to continue, please send out your third Pokémon"

"I'm not sure what happened, but it appears that in a last ditch effort Torterra activated Overgrow, its ability, and then launched the most powerful grass type in existence." Said a baffled announcer

Paul returned Torterra before calling on another Pokémon, "Honchkrow, stand by for battle!"

A flying type covered in black feathers appeared in a flash, it spread its wings and did a quick caw. Just to prove that it had made its appearance.

Ash looked worriedly at Feraligatr, that last attack from Torterra did an insane amount of damage; he had to play it safe if he wanted to make it to the half with only one known Pokémon.

"Use Aqua jet mixed with Ice punch!" Ash ordered.

Similar to the Ice aqua jet from his Sinnoh journeys the ice punch froze only the front part of the Aqua jet, allowing for full mobility because the back was left open.

Paul shouted for a dodge, but the priority attack struck hard, smashing Honchkrow into the ground.

"Honchkrow, into the sky!" Paul ordered

Honchkrow shot out of the dust from the impact and into the sky. Though there were a great many bruises, they didn't seem to inflict any serious pain.

"Watch it, and be ready to defend!" Ash warned

Paul made his move, "Agility into Sky Attack!"

'A good idea, but it doesn't look fully mastered. If I can take the hit then I can hopefully finish it with an ice beam.' Ash thought privately, "Take it then Ice beam!"

Feraligatr cried in pain as the powerful attack hit him, but kept enough focus to land the special ice attack. This was the final nail in Honchkrow's coffin, and it was unconscious upon the beam's impact.

Feraligatr however, was also on his last legs, but was still ready for more.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle, we will now take a 15 minute break seeing as the red trainer has lost 3 Pokémon." Announced the ref.

Ash knew the announcer was saying something, but he didn't bother listening. He just ignored him and walked to his locker room.

_Scene Change _

"Max?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Isn't that Paul guy the person who 'humiliated' you?" Norman asked his son

"Yeah, why?" Max asked, confused

"Doesn't this mean that you wouldn't stand a chance against Red?" Norman inquired.

Max hung his head and mumbled out a 'yeah'.

The group chuckled a bit, and then Brock had something to say

"Don't you guys think Paul's Torterra's final effort was something?"

May nodded, "Yeah, I was so startled when I heard the smash."

"I could tell!" Max cried out, "You dropped your soda and it spilled all over my shoes!"

May sweat dropped, "Sorry?"

Dawn sighed and Misty said, "Yeah, that was a seriously powerful attack, did you see Feraligatr after that attack?"

"Yeah, he looked beaten and broken." Dawn said with a slight grimace on her face.

"Not to be a softy, but did anyone else think that was a little brutal?" Asked Misty

"Well… Feraligatr was still standing, so it couldn't have been that brutal." Brock said thoughtfully.

The group continued to make small talk until the fifteen-minute horn sounded.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to the semifinal match between Paul and Red!" The announcer shouted, "So far Red has absolutely dominated this match, not losing a single Pokémon. Can Paul make a comeback before its too late?"  
This was the ref's cue to start the match.

"The rules that applied during the first half apply in this half as well, The Red trainer will choose his Pokémon first. Begin!"

Red still wanted the element of surprise so he sent out the logical choice, "Feraligatr, stand by me!"

His battered blue lizard raised its head and roared, almost as if saying, 'I wont go down without a good fight!'

Paul realized that his opponent was no slouch, so he was not giving him any slack,

"Electivire, stand by for battle!"

"And Paul has gone for the type advantage. Will it help him against Red's juggernaut?"

"Feral, use rest" Ash ordered

The Pokémon responded by going into a deep slumber that would quickly restore health, but leave him vulnerable to attack. But Ash had taught him a way around that.  
"Max power Thunder!" Paul cried,

_'This is my chance!' _He thought to himself

Ash smirked hook, line and sinker, "Use sleep talk!"

"WHAT?" Paul screeched

Without opening its eyes, Feraligatr opened its mouth and launched a massive torrent of water at the oncoming stream of thunder. And Ash couldn't help but grimace.

_'Water conducts electricity, it wasn't the attack I was hoping for but it will hopefully lessen the damage and allow Feral to recover.' _Ash thought, he knew he was gambling, but for his Pokémon's sake it was well worth it.

Feraligatr cried in pain as the electricity shot through the water and into Feraligatr's body. The intense shock awoke Feraligatr early, making Ash frown, but he had regained some health. Now it was a fair fight.

"Good, now earthquake into stone edge!" Ash called

Feraligatr roared as it smashed its right foot into the arena floor, sending massive shockwaves throughout the battlefield. While Paul was frantically ordering a dodge, two light blue circles appeared around the water types body. But the circles were quickly transformed into stones, which were hurled at impressive speed towards the unbalance electric type. The attack hit home, and Ash couldn't help but smirk as he heard the cry of pain and fury from his adversaries chosen Pokémon.

"What an impressive combo!" Cried the enthusiastic announcer, "Using Earthquake to unbalance Electivire made it unable to dodge the powerful special attack that followed!"

Paul growled as his Pokémon collected itself from the onslaught of super effective attacks. He was in trouble, and he knew this problematic water type had to go. He had three Pokémon left, well more like two and a half now, to use in this battle. He knew he had lost, but he was _not _getting shut out.

"Charge in with thunderpunch!" Paul ordered, and then under his breath he called, "Then use iron tail and follow it with thunder."

Electivire gave no sign of hearing or comprehending, but actions speak louder than words. Ash had decided to allow Feraligatr to battle alone, just to see. So he was a bit shocked when his well trained and disciplined Pokémon ran out to meet the thunderpunch with an icepunch. He had walked right into Paul's trap.

He could only watch as Feraligatr was pummeled by the dual iron tail, and then shocked into blissful unconsciousness.

The ref raised his flag, "Feraligatr is unable to continue, Red trainer, please choose your next Pokémon."

The announcer decided to have some input, "Well, well, Paul has finally downed one of Red's Pokémon, but he still has five more powerhouses waiting in the wings. Can Paul even compete?"

Paul growled at the announcer, of course he could, he was Paul Shinji!

"Stand by Sceptile!" Ash called as he threw a ball

After the flash subsided a green lizard Pokémon stood tall and proud as it twiddled with the twig in its mouth.

"Electivire use…"

Before Paul could finish Sceptile had already executed a quick attack/aerial ace combo.

Paul gaped in shock as one of his most powerful Pokémon was now struggling to get up. He looked at Ash with a questioning gaze, mentally asking, 'how?'

Ash merely shrugged and tapped his head with a smirk. However, unlike Paul he held a sense of honor and dignity. So he planned on letting the electric type stand up before attacking (If it could).

Electivire had managed to struggle its way to its feet but it was shaking uncontrollably from the sheer effort of it. Ash looked at the ref, with the words 'really?' written all over his face. The ref shrugged,

"He's still standing, so he can still technically continue."

Ash accepted this and then looked at Sceptile,

"Be nice"

It was more of a plea than a statement. No matter how Ash had changed over the years he still had a soft spot for Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Paul was still making sure his Pokémon could continue (Shocker!) before ordering a command. Finally, he decided he was ready.

"Use thunderbolt!"

A weak thunderbolt attack crawled its way toward Sceptile. Who just gave it a bored look, and stepped out of the way. Apparently this was all Electivire had left in its tank. The thunderbolt abruptly ended, and it ended with its firer on his face.

"Electivire is unable to continue, Green trainer, send out your next Pokémon!"

Paul nodded. Now he was going to be a whole lot more careful, "Weavile, stand by for battle!"

His dark and ice type appeared on the field in a battle ready stance, but it faltered into a look of pure rage at the bored look Sceptile was giving it.

Paul noticed, and figured he might as well fuel the fire,

"Use ice beam!" He cried

The light blue beam shot towards Sceptile who countered with a bullet seed, almost as if he wasn't even trying. This got Weavile mad, and it sprinted off towards Sceptile. The forest Pokémon raised an eyebrow, slightly shocked, but he was okay with it. He could beat this prick into the ground any day of the week.

Ash was also surprised, but if Paul's Pokémon was acting alone (Not by choice) then he might as well let Sceptile be free as well. So he gave him a dismissing wave and Sceptile took the hint.

After dodging a few sluggishly thrown night slashes he retaliated with a brick break into the ice types stomach, then a leaf blade to its chin. The combo did massive damage, and Weavile was showing the effects. It was swaying slightly, but was still relentlessly firing attacks at the elusive green Pokémon.

Finally, Ash had enough of these games, "Finish it!"

Sceptile nodded, it reared its foot back and slammed it into the ground. This action caused a dozen thick and thorny vines to appear in a flurry of déjà vu.

_Stands_

"Uh oh!" Brock said, already taking cover. He had seen what Paul's could do, but Red's he was slightly terrified of.

May and Max had sought shelter under their seats, while Misty had retreated to the gym leader's box. Dawn, who had been planning on using Misty as a human shield used Mr. Maple, who was still ignorant and had elected to ignore all of the hiding teens.

_Field_

The vines shot towards to ice type who promptly turned tail and ran. However, one of the vines swiped him up into the air, and another brought him down to earth. Weavile certainly made an impression, there was a large crater in the middle of the field, and at the bottom was an unresponsive idiot.

"Weavile is unable to continue, Green trainer, please send out your _final _Pokémon!"

Paul gritted his teeth, nothing he had could stand up to that Sceptile. The best chance he had was his type advantage, but being careless had taken that away from him. In fact, he had underestimated his opponent to nearly ludicrous levels. That cost him the match. Actually scratch that, it cost him a few Pokémon he shouldn't have lost, he never stood a chance against this man.

Ash could see Paul thinking, but he was experienced, and therefore he knew what he was pondering

_'Looks like Pauli wants to surrender. Oh well, I want to see him grovel!'_

Paul continued to dull his teeth, surrendering would ruin his image. But a little voice in his head told him that wasn't true _he, _personally had ruined his image. Now it was a matter of taking it like a man, or doing the cowardly thing and try hopelessly to look like a fighter. This was it; he was throwing all of his dignity out the window,

"I…"

"Yes?" Ash egged him on with a smirk

"I… I… Surrender" he garbled the last word so no one could hear or comprehend it.

"What?" Called the red

"I SURRENDER!" Paul shouted, and then he left the stadium after recalling his Pokémon.

Everyone was a little shocked by Paul's outburst, but it was the logical thing to do in his current predicament.

The announcer shook his head and announced the verdict, "Advancing to the Semifinal round of our prestigious tournament is none other than Red Satoshi!"

A picture of Red flashed up of the monitor with confetti shooting in the background. The crowd roared in an uncontrollable frenzy. Ash had planned on just walking out and avoiding the world for a few days, but now he knew that wasn't possible.

He was instantly swarmed by reporters, asking how he provided his impressive one loss win over one of the top rated trainers in Sinnoh.

_Scene Change (Paul's locker room)_

Paul thought to himself about the match.

_'Man, I really trashed that battle. I couldn't have thrown it any more away than i did.' _

He eyed his pokeballs with a curious and thoughtful eye

_'These guys never doubted me; even through my worst judgment of my whole career they still battled hard. Maybe I… maybe I should rethink how I do things. Maybe I should treat them better. Maybe a little more like that Ketchum kid did. Sometime I wonder how he turned out? Probably mediocre, after all, he only beat me a handful of times.'_

Little did Paul know, that Ash _was_ doing well, and that the number had just increased by one.

* * *

**AN:**

**I got a lot of PMs to make Ash win by a landslide. So I figured I might as well give a decently logical explanation for his huge loss. The surrender was idea that came to me to help Paul appreciate his Pokémon a little more. So if you thought it was bad? Review. Decent? Review. Good? Review. Great? Review. Or, review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **

**Final instillation of the triple update, but not the story. Nope, I'm back in business!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, Pokémon is still, not mine. Nor will it ever be. This is a shorter chapter, but its a filler chapter, so dont expect a master piece. BTW Changing the genre from adventure to humor. I don't think its an adventure story**

* * *

The reporters had finally left him alone. After three hours of answering questions, taking photos, signing autographs and giving young trainers inspirational speeches he was ready to pass out. And when he entered his room that's exactly what he did… right next to his bed.

**WAIT! If you skipped straight to this chapter then you are gonna be missing a big chunk of the story line. I got rid of the author's notes chapters so even thought this is chapter 9, skip back to chapter 7.**

Lucario looked at his once so collected trainer who was now slumped up against the side of his bed.

Mew floated in and upon seeing Ash she giggled,

_'Did he miss the bed?'_

Lucario hung his head, _'Yes, as crazy as it seems he actually missed the bed.'_

Mew glowed a light pink and floated the exhausted trainer onto his bed. Though there was no reaction, the pair could have sworn they heard a sigh of relief.

Lucario looked at mew, _'Its only like 4 in the afternoon, he'll be up around midnight wondering why its so dark out.'_

_'Oh well, he deserves the rest, so who knows, maybe he'll sleep 'till a decent hour.' _ Mew replied

Lucario sight, _'Wishful thinking.'_

Mew floated into the kitchen, probably to find something to eat, leaving Lucario alone. Instead of meditation like he normally would he turned on the television and began watching some boring ass shit called the news.

_Time skip_

Ash stretched his arms, he felt amazing. He had finally gotten a good nights sleep and it felt…great? He paused as he looked out his window, black.

"Whuh?" He mumbled.

He ran over to his phone and unlocked it to check the time and his eyes nearly fell out of his head

"3:00 AM?!"

Lucario was shocked out of his slumber by his master's outburst,

_'Well whadya know, Mew was right!' _

The aura Pokémon then turned off the television, which had magically changed from boring incidents in China to Saturday morning reruns of classic cartoons.

Lucario decided to fill Ash in,

_'You see, after you came to the room you just sorta stumbled over to your bed and then collapsed… right next to the bed.'_

"Then how did I end up on the bed? Last I checked I don't sleep anything." Ash inquired

_'Mew lifted you up. I believe it was around 4:00 in the evening. So you slept for 11 hours, bravo!'_ Lucario clapped sarcastically

"Still love that shining sense of humor." Ash said, words drowning in sarcasm

Lucario figured that his master and friend wanted some alone time. After all, it wasn't every day you got into the semifinals of probably the most prestigious interregional tournament.

_'I'm going to go and find some food, master. I will leave you in peace'_

The eminence Pokémon knew it was a poor excuse, but he couldn't really come up with anything else. So he walked away before Ash had a chance to question.

Ash meanwhile, sighed. Life had been so stressful as of late. Of course, with the consistent battling against powerful opponents there was no need for training. Unless there was a new move that they needed to perfect. Now that he had slept for the better part of 11 hours he figured that the new schedule would be up. He knew his opponent would most likely be a champion, but he was hoping it wouldn't be Cynthia. He wanted to beat her in the finals. He checked to make sure all of his Pokémon were secure in their balls before walking out.

_'Don't want any angry neighbors knocking on my door.' _Ash chuckled to himself.

He picked up the key to the room, and slipped out. He was on one of the upper floors, so the elevator ride down was lengthy, but he didn't mind. In fact, he liked elevators for some odd reason. He couldn't explain it, he just liked them.

Without warning, the elevator lights shut off and the elevator stopped moving. Ash, wasn't amused, and simply conjured up a ball of his red aura. This action illuminated the elevator well, almost as good as the now failed lights.

"Shit!" Ash cursed, "I'm stuck in an elevator at 3 in the morning. Who the hell is gonna get me out of this?"

His love of elevators just decreased.

Ash eyed the elevator, looking for a possible exit. He didn't want to blow his way out. That would wake everyone up, and set off the alarm. That would be bad. He thought he saw an opening at the roof of the elevator. So he reached for it, and stopped just inches before the metal alloy when he realized that he was reaching with his armed hand (Aura sphere).

"That was almost really bad." Ash said

If he had learned anything in his travels, it's that aura and nonliving thing don't like each other. That could have blown his elevator to Sinnoh.

Being the self preservative Ash was, he vowed to be more careful. So showing off his terrible judgment the trainer let the aura sphere go. But instead of falling, it just sort of floated.

This was one of Ash's newest techniques, it allowed him to manipulate to speed of his aura sphere as well as its angle of descent. So the aura sphere was not floating, but was just moving at such a slow speed that the naked eye couldn't be bothered to watch for movement.

He felt along the surface, looking for any creases or openings, nothing. The elevator looked like it had been made from one piece of material. But with this being the most exclusive as well as expensive hotel in all of Kanto, that was a hauntingly real possibility.

Ash knew there was no non-violent way out of the elevator. If he pried the doors open he would just be met with the wall, and there was no way his well-built frame could fit through the gap between elevator and wall. Hell he doubted anything alive could. He was stuck, and by the looks of things he would be for quite some time.

He figured he should meditate; he hadn't done that in a while, and it seemed like a good idea. However, when he tried it he fell asleep again without noticing

Ash was shaken out of his slumber by something prodding his side. The prodding increased in force after he grumbled for five more minutes. Finally, Ash figured he should wake up. He expected to see Lucario's reprimanding scowl. And to hear his deep voice telling him he had slept in again. But that was not who he saw. Actually, whom he saw was probably the opposite of Lucario.

"Sonny, we got the elevator fixed, you're free to leave now" An older voice said to him.

Ash rubbed his eyes, making sure he had heard right, "Elevator?"

The old man nodded, "Yep. We got a warning on our elevator moniter that this elevator had failed at 3:29 AM."

"Of course." Ash grumbled to himself. Then said, "What time is it now."

"Its…" The man said, checking his watch "11:00"

Ash's jaw dropped, he had been stuck in an elevator for more than 7 hours!

Ash collected himself, thanked the man, and then walked out of the elevator. Just as he walked over to a computer his stomach growled. Showing the signs of well over 12 hours without food.

Ash sighed, now was really not a good time. But he couldn't argue, because food sounded really good right now. He wondered where he should go, then the in hotel restaurant crossed his mind. And Ash couldn't help but chuckle

_'Sure!' _he thought _'And I'm the Kanto champion!'_

He walked out of the lobby and down the road. On his way to his desired location there were many adoring fans that asked for his autograph, for a picture, or for a date. He accepted everything except the date. Some of the girls were pretty good looking, but they weren't his type. So after he made it to a restaurant he sat down and ordered something simple: A hamburger with fries.

He was shocked again when a blonde haired champion sat in the booth across from him.

_'Her hairs different today' _Ash noted, _'Must be trying to escape the media'_

True to Ash's statement, Cynthia's hair was no longer occupied with the black hair clips, nor did it cover her right eye. Instead it flowed elegantly down her back. Allowing _both _of her breathtaking eyes to study you.

Ash was confused, but decided he might as well ask, "What's with the hair? Did the paparazzi refuse to leave you alone?"

Cynthia giggled, "Can't a girl just get a hair cut?"

Ash was shocked, but Cynthia turned around to allow him to see her now much shorter hair. It was still the same style, but instead of going to the small of her back it stopped between her shoulder blades.

"I guess, but it looks great." Ash complimented, and it wasn't just to be kind. He really thought it looked good.

"But you were right about the media. They are practically at my door every other minute!" She sighed exasperatedly, "I had to go out my window just to get here."

The waitress who had taken his order decided to come back and give him his food. Her happy grin disappearing as she took note of the beautiful blonde across from Ash. Nevertheless, she asked what she would like to eat and or drink. Even though Cynthia was over 21, she never really warmed up to drinking beer in the morning. She only drank alcohol in the evening, or after dinner.

"Water will be perfect." She said.

"Will that be all?" the waitress asked.

Cynthia nodded, and just before the waitress was out of an earshot she muttered

"Lucky bitch!"

Ash's eyes widened and Cynthia broke down in giggles.

"You want me to have a _chat _with her about that?" Ash asked

"No, it's alright. I think she thinks you and I are dating" She said, recovering from her outburst, "I'm sorry, I haven't laughed like that in forever! It felt… nice"

Ash nodded, he knew the feeling, "Don't worry about it, I did something like that a few days ago. It does feel… nice" He said as a smirk at the last bit

Cynthia's eyes widened in mock shock, "Oh my Red! Did you just _mock _me?"

Ash's smirk held, but he winced inwardly at the mention of Red. And with that, he knew what he had to do.

"Maybe. But listen, Cynthia, after we finish here can you and I go to a more private place? There is something extremely important and private I need to tell you."

Cynthia was a little shocked; This was like one of those cliché rape scenarios. But she wasn't concerned. She had her Pokémon, and she had some regulations of her own.

"Yes we can, but no offense, would be it alright if you didn't bring any Pokémon? I know it sounds like I don't trust you, but I haven't known you for all that long."

Ash nodded, knowing where she was coming from, "Relax, I don't have any Pokémon anyway. I left them all back in the room. And I wouldn't rape you Cynthia."

Cynthia raised an eyebrow, "You psychic?"

"No, I just know where this is coming from, and I guess my request was a little odd sounding. But what I plan on telling you cannot be heard by the media." Ash said seriously. He was putting a lot of faith in the champion, but he felt that he could trust her.

The pair continued to chat until Ash finished his food. Then, after paying, they walked out of the restaurant and into the forest.

"So where is your private spot, Red?" Cynthia asked.

"Just up ahead." Ash answered, "There will be no cameras or hidden microphones here."

Cynthia nodded, then her thoughts floated to what her companion was going to tell her. Would he ask her out? Maybe. Would she say yes? She thought on this. Yes, she thought. Yes I would. But what if its about his past? Maybe he's like a secret criminal or forgotten champion. Or maybe he's undercover for the KIC (Kanto investigation center). Then her mind went into immature mode, her thoughts even gracing super hero. But she was shaken out of her musings by Ash's voice.

"We're here."

She was shocked. This was not what she was expecting. A beautiful lake that was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom.

"You like?" Ash asked

Cynthia nodded, too awestruck to say anything

"This lake was formed by aura users over a century ago. They put an aura barrier around the lake so only those blessed with the ability to use aura can enter. She had failed to notice that the whole time she and Ash had been holding hands. Cynthia blushed and let go of Ash's hand, but as soon as she did, Ash and the lake disappeared. Only a not so pristine cliff wall remained.

Suddenly the cliff wall vanished and Ash and the Lake reappeared

"Sorry, but you don't have the ability to use aura." Ash said with a sweat drop, "But you do have a slight understanding of it."

Cynthia nodded, "Now, what did you want to tell me."

"Well, the first thing on my list was my aura abilities, but with me showing you the lake that gets checked off my list." Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck

Cynthia raised an eyebrow, "A list?"

"Yeah" Ash said sheepishly, but then his tone turned serious, "Look, I want you promise me two things before I tell you."

"Okay?' she was a little confused but she went with it.

"1. You cannot flip shit and run away. You can flip shit and stay here, but don't run."

"Alright, I promise."

"2. You cannot tell anyone, not even your grandmother or your best friends until I tell them first or I have given you permission to tell them"

"Okay." She was loosing more sight of where this was going

"Say you promise!" Ash said seriously.

"I give you my word." Cynthia said

Ash nodded, and took a deep breath. He removed his sunglasses and changed his eye color to their original golden color. Then he ran his hands repeatedly through his spiked up hair. Making it look like a short version of his original style (Before eh left).

Cynthia's breath hitched, and her eyes went wide. Sure there was no Z marks, those had faded with age. Sure there was currently no Pikachu, but he was back at the hotel room. Sure he had matured and grown taller and stronger, but he was still

"Ash"

* * *

** AN:**

**Wow, getting over writers block was tough. And getting all three chapters done in a week was even tougher, but hey, late nights and sleeping through my fourth period class paid off! Well, not for me but for you. So as of right now, I am tired, its 11:00 at night, and the haters can wait until morning.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:**

**YES! 100+ favorites! Seems like 100 of you really enjoy my story. I'll try to keep the updates good and fast. Alright, I don't mean to rip on you but I need to get this off my chest. The new Pokémon season BW Rival Destinies or whatever really pisses me off. I'm actually thinking about writing a story about Ash destroying the Unova league and Iris wont come along (She really annoys me). But I won't, cause you guys want a prequel, and frankly so do I. So… thanks for being patient, you guys are the best.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon, no matter how much I wish I did **

* * *

"Um…" She couldn't think of anything to say. This was a man who had earned her trust and her affection, but that was a different guy, or was it the same guy.

Ash eyed Cynthia; he thought she was taking this information well. He figured she would have run screaming to the authorities and tell them all about his escape and his good health, and then probably call him a serial killer. But apparently he thought wrong.

"You alright?" Ash asked, she had been quiet for so long he was beginning to get worried.

Her only response was to reach her hand out and poke his chest. After her hand made solid contact she let out an, 'eep!' and her hand retreated to the safety of her side.

"Your…real" She mumbled, now finding the floor extremely interesting.

Ash nodded, trying to be calm and very clear, "Yes"

"How?"

"Well I was never actually convicted. After escaping the holding cell, which was a piece of cake after the guards who were set to watch me got drunk at a party, I faked my death." Ash summarized.

Cynthia nodded, refusing to say anything.

Ash wasn't surprised, he wouldn't say anything either. But Ash decided to take this as a gesture for him to continue his tale, so he did,

"I found a patch of land that had no Pokémon habitats, human housing, and was in an area where the fire would not spread. It was so simple, all I did was start a fire, then set my hat on fire, then put out the flames of my hat, then leave it in a simple hiding place. I cannot believe those detectives were so dimwitted. I have met and helped many sharp detectives over the course of my 'death'; but i guess this means I must have gotten lucky. Always have, and hopefully always will."

Cynthia nodded again, still nothing came out. The only thing that indicated Ash that she was still paying attention was her consistent nodding.

"So?" Ash inquired

Cynthia shook her head, "Wow"

Ash nodded, "Yeah, wow."

Cynthia ran up and hugged him. Ash was surprised by the warm gesture, but warmed to it and hugged comfortingly back. Ash's shock only grew when he heard quiet, but still real sobs coming from the Sinnoh champion.

Eventually, Ash broke the hug.

"Come on, my battle is in 2 hours. I need to go prepare." Ash said in a slow and soft voice.

Cynthia nodded and removed her head from his chest. Her eyes were red from tears, but her face showed nothing but happiness.

"I'm glad your back, Ash." She said

Ash was surprised again, _'She's better at shocking me then Pikachu!'_

"Why? We hardly knew each other." He asked

Cynthia giggled, "Its hard to forget someone like you."

Ash nodded, but it was more to humor her then anything else. He had done his duty; now his thoughts turned from the emotional blonde to the stone willed Hoenn champion, Steven.

He knew the type of Pokémon Steven would use, not that it was a secret to anyone. But he had to watch out for those dual types like his Metagross. He was positive Steven had trained them to be extremely powerful with their recessive typing.

Ash didn't realize he had his arm around Cynthia's shoulder until he stopped thinking about his upcoming battle. Becoming aware that it would be bad for Cynthia to be seen with a guy he figured they should split here.

"Cynthia, you should probably fly back to your hotel from here. It would be bad for your publicity if the media caught you with me. Plus, you are in no state to walk there."

Ash was right, here eyes were still bloodshot and the area surrounding her eyes were red as well form her incessantly rubbing her eyes.

Cynthia nodded, then called out her Garchomp and flew off without another word to Ash.

Cynthia watched as Ash's figure faded into the distance. She finally let her tears flow free. She had put up a strong front for Ash, but inside she was ready to explode with emotions. Sadness, anger, hatred, _love._ All were attempting to crawl their way into her facial features and words. She was strong, and she wasn't about to let that happen. But everyone's resolve is only so strong. So when she landed on her balcony she didn't even bother to return Garchomp, she just sprinted to her bedroom and slammed the door. She flung herself on her bed and buried her head in the pillow, then let all the emotions out at once.

_Scene Change_

Ash had finally arrived at his required stadium... and hour early. It took some convincing, but eventually the stadium guards let him into the locker room. So now he sat on one of the very comfortable yet simple chairs that decorated the large room. Ash knew the upcoming battle was pivotal in making his dream come true. If he could beat Steven then his popularity would soar. His reputation would spread to Orre, and Alder would quake in fear. But that would all have to wait, because he hadn't won yet, but he would. Something just told him that he was going to win. Must be his overconfidence.

Pikachu gave him a once over, and gestured to the five pokeballs resting on his belt. Ash got the memo and called out his five other battlers. They roared their respective cries and various attacks were shot to display dominance, although remember they were in an enclosed room. Ash shouted and ran for cover, while Pikachu grabbing his shoulder and held on for dear life. The Pokemon realized their mistake and the fireworks ceased.

Ash heard the explosions and shouts stop, so he bravely grabbed hold of Pikachu and held him in the room. As Ash got his brains shocked out he didn't notice the stadium security making their way over to the room. The guards were slightly surprised to see a charred trainer holding a flailing Pikachu through a door. This was not what they expected when they got the call saying there was a war breaking out in locker room B21.

After throwing Pikachu into the middle of the ceasefire he finally noticed the guards.

"What can i do for you officers?" Ash asked in a shaky voice. He knew what he could do for them.

"Can you explain to me why there were people in the above levels shouting that the sky was falling?" the highest ranked officer asked

Ash put on a wavering grin, "Well, you see officer..."

_Time skip_

"Well, I hope you guys are happy" Ash grumbled at his Pokemon, who thought this whole ordeal was a riot

"Guys!" Ash whined, "Stop laughing! We have a battle"

These feeble comments only caused the Pokemon to roar with laughter, some falling to the ground.

He heard Lucario through their link trying to impersonate the officer, _'Can you explain to me why there were people in the above levels shouting that the sky was falling?" _

The Pokemon's laughter increased, then Ash heard Lucario do it again,

_'I don't really know what the punishment is for being charged with ending the world but...' _

This time Ash smiled as well, the team deserved something to laugh about. After all, the past few years have been nothing to laugh about.

Ash looked at the wall clock and his eyes widened,

"Guys, 15 minutes 'till show time!"

The Pokemon didn't listen

"Hey! I said something!"

The laughter continued until Ash got annoyed

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

The Pokemon heard and stopped

Ash sighed and repeated himself, "Lets go guys, 15 minutes 'till show time. Getcha game face on!"

The Pokemon finally understood, and their expressions did a 180. Now they were serious and dedicated.

Ash smiled, "Get ready, this one's a biggee"

His team nodded, then did a group fist pound then they were sucked into their respective balls. Ash placed all the balls back on their slots on his belt, then began the endless and mind numbing walk down the tunnel. On his way to the field recent events finally caught up with him. His confidence wavered, as did his pace. He stopped walking just short of the exit to the field. He could vaguely hear the crowd and could see most of the he couldnt will himself to walk the extra few feet.

He stared at the field in a sudden fit of annoyance. He realized that he was in no mood for a battle today. He had too many unsettled emotions that he had to deal with, and he had nearly been arrested. This was just not his day, and that was bad. He was facing Steven, who would crush him if he wasn't on his best day. And he wasn't on his best day, so Ash was a little nervous.

Pikachu of course was perfectly in tune with the emotions of his trainer, but unlike Ash he was pumped up. Although he was a little surprised at the sudden stop he thought nothing of it. And regardless of the fact that Ash had told him that due to typing and the high chance of a bad match up he would be likely to battle early in the match, against Steven's weaker Pokémon. Well, lets not use weaker, let's use less powerful.

Ash hadn't realized he had been standing in the tunnel with an annoyed scowl on his face until the announcer called for both trainers to make their entrance. The trainer snapped out of his stupor and took a moment to look around, and after spotting Pikachu on his shoulder he calmed down.

"Ready, Pi?" Asked Ash

_'I feel like I'm gonna explode if I don't get out there!' _The mouse exclaimed excitedly

"After we win here its on to the finals" Ash said making a determined fist.

Pikachu smiled; piece-by-piece he was slowly getting his friend back.

Ash took a deep breath, then put on a confident smirk and walked out onto the field.

_Scene change_

Max was getting annoyed, May and Dawn were arguing over whether Water attacks were better for contests than fire and Brock was too busy staring at Cynthia (Who had calmed down and decided to sit by them for the match) to do anything. So when he saw Ash and Steven walk out onto the field and the pair's bickering failed to cease he lost his temper,

"QUIET!"

Dawn and May were startled out of their fight and turned and glared and Max, but the boy did not back down

"The match is about to start!"

The two girl's glare disappeared and their heads whipped to the field, where they stared unwaveringly as though their life depended on it. Max sighed and sat down in his seat, ready to enjoy the action.

_Scene Change_

Ash looked around the stadium; observing his adoring, die hard fans. And he was surprised to see Cynthia, sitting calmly in the stands.

_'Well' _Ash thought, _'If she can recover that fast then I should recover twice as fast. Its not like I just had the information that my long dead friend whose now alive and is now my unauthorized boyfriend shoved at me.'_

Ash then turned back towards the field, his facial features becoming confident and determined.

Steven raised a stoic eyebrow at his opposition's sudden change in demeanor. He had heard a great deal about this trainer, and had prepared accordingly. He knew Red was no pushover, and that the odds were not in his favor, but he was a champion. And he was going to fight to the bitter end.

The announcer began the introductions, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Semi Finals! Battling it out here for a chance at glory are none other than the Hoenn Champion Steven Stone! And fighting against him is the overnight sensation Red Satoshi!"

The crowd exploded, cheers were bursting eardrums and wands waved through the air.

Ash grinned at the spectacle, no matter how many times he did it this is an experience that would never get old.

"Ready, Red? I'm comin' at you!" Steven called, hoping his reputation could get him a tiny edge over the mysterious trainer.

"I would take you own advice _Champion" _Ash sneered the last word, "Cause I'm holding nothing back."

Steven groaned inwardly, his little ploy had failed and now the two were battling on equal footing.

"Now, we will spin the wheel to decide which trainer will go first." The ref called, signaling the double colored wheel to be set in motion.

The wheel quickly gained speed and… quickly lost speed as it stopped on green.

Ash sighed, _'Oh well, guess I might as well terrorize him sooner rather than later.'_

"Fight for victory, Torterra!" Ash called, throwing the pokeball containing his behemoth dual type.

The continent Pokémon materialized with a roar of dominance.

Steven grinned, "Cradily, Fight with honor!"

A Pokémon slightly resembling a flower appeared, staring down at Torterra. But Torterra would have none of it, and returned the glare with its own formidable stare.

Steven grinned, "I knew you would chose Torterra, kid."

"What?" Ash exclaimed in shock

_'How could he know?' _Ash thought frantically, but his exterior held firm

"Well, you'll just have to see then." Steven smirked

Ash's confidence rebuilt itself, "Yes, we will see."

The ref cut in on their bout, "Are both trainers ready?"

Both nodded in affirmative

"Then allow the battle to begin!"

"Cradily, charge with Giga impact!" Steven called

"And Steven starts with the powerful physical attack! How will Red defend against Steven's attack power?" The announcer cried

Ash smirked, "Show them true power, Torterra attack with Giga impact!"

Ash ignored the surprised, 'WHAT?!' from the announcer and the surprised look on Steven's face.

The two dual types met in the middle, both fighting for dominance. Without warning, a massive explosion shook the stadium to its foundation.

* * *

**AN:**

**Finally updated (Sorry). This is the shortest chapter in the whole story (Sorry) and the next update will probably be all battle, as well as a bit away (Sorry). That was a lot of apologies (Sorry ;). I had two projects and one essay due the prior week and barely had time for eating, sleeping and pooping (The basic necessities of life). Whoever puts up with me and my insane schedule and my constant breaking of the deadlines I set is a saint. Hope you guys bear with me for the remainder of the story! BTW Reviews are decent, but I'm gunning for favorites. The more the merrier!**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Haha! Finally, the well anticipated battle between Steven and Ash. Well I'll bet you think you know whose gonna win, well I bet you that you'll be surprised.**

**Disclaimer:**

**'Guess what!'**

**'What?'**

**'I… don't own Pokémon.'**

**'Hahahaha… loser'**

***Sad Face***

**I realized i forgot to name Torterra last chapter, so from now on it will be Jade.**

* * *

Max's face lit up, literally and figuratively. The light from the explosion was blinding, and the group needed to shield their eyes to prevent loss of sight. Max was pretty sure someone just went blind and that the Pokémon league was about to have another court case on their hands.

The light from the explosion died down, and as soon as it did the results of the calamity could be properly seen. There was a giant crater in the middle of the field, and both Pokémon looked worn out, but this what Ash had planned for.

"You said you anticipated my Pokémon choice, Steven." Ash called over to the champion.

"So what if I did?" Steven asked, wondering what brought this on.

Ash grinned, "Then you should know that move was a mistake."

"Why's that?" Asked Steven in disbelief

"Synthesis." Ash ordered calmly, unlike his opponent

"Shit! Cradily use ancient power" He called frantically

Sensing it's trainer's urgency the ancient Pokémon charged its attack as fast as it could, and once it was fully charged it fired almost instantly.

Ash was unconcerned. He knew that Torterra's defensive prowess would keep it healthy even after the ancient power. He was concerned about the effects of the attack. Steven was gambling, he wanted to inflict damage as well as keep Cradily a force that could continue the fight. If his gamble worked, he had a very real shot at winning this battle. And with no substitutions allowed he couldn't swap Torterra for a more adequate Pokémon. So in a sense he was betting against Steven.

Torterra had completed the healing process and was staring down its hopefully still weakened opponent. And with Ash's next command he was about to test the waters

"Use energy ball!"

Ash knew that Steven would order a dodge; he wasn't planning a second attack. In fact, he was planning to defend.

When the dodge was successful and graceful Ash knew he was in for it.

"Quick! Jade use razor leaf into leaf storm!" Ash ordered as he saw Cradily charging at his Pokémon.

His Torterra complied and fired the attack. But when the light rain of leaves didn't stop the rock Pokemon the amount increased to a white out of leaves. Ash didn't know if the attack did notable damage or if the Cradily slowed from lack of vision, but he also didn't care.

"Use energy ball!" He commanded

Torterra charged the attack and fired. The leaves were now out of the way, but Cradily wasn't out of the woods yet. The energy ball was already on its way, but with it's speed boost it dodged gracefully. Ash however was ready, and sent a silent command for giga drain.

The ropes of power wrapped around a surprised Cradily and began sucking the energy out of it.

"I expect better from a champion." Ash sneered at Steven

Steven growled and ordered an Earthquake. Ash was surprised.

_'Crap, I didn't account for earthquake. If Torterra becomes too focused on staying upright Cradily will be able to break free, and if he keeps the grip on Cradily he will fall and take maximum damage'_ Ash thought angrily.

"Release the Cradily and stay on your feet!" Ash called. He decided that a damaged Cradily and a next to full health Torterra was better than a KO'd Cradily and a badly damaged Sinnoh starter.

"Bad choice, Red." Steven smirked at Ash

Ash was confused, but the confusion was soon lifted as Steven explained.

"Use hyper beam!"

_'Uh-oh'_ Ash thought

"Try and stay upright to counter with your own hyper beam." Ash called. He had no hope of dodging so the only option was to counter.

Just like before with the pair of giga impacts, the hyper beams slammed mercilessly into each other. Although with the earthquake beginning to fade Torterra was slowly beginning to prove he was the stronger Pokémon.

Steven noticed his Pokémon's beam beginning to get pushed back.

_'How? Even with the boost that Pokémon is still on equal ground with my Cradily. I have to stop it, but how?' _Steven thought frantically, then he realized the solution to his problem

"Use confuse ray!" Steven ordered triumphantly.

"No! Jade shield your eyes!" But Ash's cry fell on deaf ears as the mesmerizing light hit home, and hit hard.

"Damnit" Ash hissed, now he was in trouble.

'_With all of Torterra's attack strength it could knock itself out with just a few hits, I have to bait Steven with a helpless ploy, then he'll fall right into my grasp.' _Ash silently strategized.

"Try and use Energy ball." Ash called.

Luckily for Ash the ball charged, luckily for Steven the ball shot toward the right stadium wall.

"Well Ash, ready to forfeit your Torterra?" Steven said victoriously.

Ash smirked, his risky plan was working and all he had to do to win the match was keep it up.

"Maybe. But then again maybe not."

Steven's swagger didn't downsize by the comment it only increased.

"Either way our Torterra's gonna be in a world of pain."

"Then finish it fast." Ash sighed.

Steven grinned, "Finally I can put you in your place! Cradily, use giga impact once again!"

The flower charged at Torterra in what appeared to be the final attack. But when Steven looked at Ash he saw the trainer smirking,

"What are you so smug about? I'm winning this first match!" Steven called; he was through with this trainer and his unreadable strategy. One moment it was one thing, the next it was another.

"No, first blood's always mine!" Ash said confidently

"What?"

"Grass knot!" Ash ordered

"How is that possible?"

At a moment's notice the once confused Torterra snapped to attention and executed the command perfectly, causing the charging grass type to trip and smash into the ground. As it rolled the unstable ground cause the energy from giga impact to explode. Engulfing the field in a dust cloud. Once the dust settled the results were put on display for the entire world to see.

An unconscious Cradily lay in a smoking heap a few feet away from a straining Torterra.

The ref made his call, "Cradily is unable to battle! The victory of the first match is Red!"

The crowd went wild and the announcer took over for the ref

"And Red has scored first blood! How will Steven possibly respond to this powerhouse Pokémon?"

"How did you do that?" Steven said in disbelief.

Ash smirked, "Items are very useful, and I know for a fact your Pokemon have them as well."

Steven growled and was about to send out his second Pokemon, "Try and counter thi..."

"Actually." Interrupted a short man with a white beard, "Due to the damage to the field this match has been deemed unsafe to continue the battle. Ladies and gentlemen the battle will continue at 11 o'clock the next day. It will be a five on five match up with the same Pokémon excluding Cradily and Torterra."

The crowd booed, they were clearly clueless about the peril another battle would bring to the stadium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen you must keep your tickets, for they are your refund. The match tomorrow will be free for all of those who have purchased a ticket to today's match. Please make your way out in an orderly fashion."

Even with their competitiveness at a record high, Steven and Ash were unsurprised by Mr. Goodshow's verdict. The field felt like it was crumbling under their feet. Both trainers turned in sync and headed into their respective locker rooms.

_Scene Change_

"Aw, why do we have to leave?" Max whined

"Because, Max" Brock answered, "After all of those intense collisions the field machinery must be really screwed."

"Anyone wonder how Stephen knew that Red was going to use Torterra?" Misty asked

Cynthia answered this time, "Because Steven is a Champion, and anyone who isn't a champion would be a nervous wreck to go up against him."

"Oh, I see" Said Brock, finally getting the jist of it, "So Steven wanted to put up an intimidating façade to intimidate Ash... err I mean Red." Brock said

The whole group got strangely quiet,

"He really reminds you guys of Ash, huh?" Cynthia asked, trying to keep cool.

Brock nodded, "I don't really know what it is, but something about him. It could be the Pikachu, could be that we have never heard of this Red Satoshi."

Cynthia was getting slightly worried; Brock was highly intelligent. This could pose a problem, but she decided to continue with the conversation so she didn't look suspicious.

"He's properly strong though, I wonder if him and the Cinder guy that beat the Royal Line have battled before."

"Whose Cinder?" Asked May, Max and Misty also looked slightly confused.

"And what's the Royal Line?" Asked Dawn

Brock gaped at them, "How can you not know? The Royal Line is another of the most prestigious tournaments on the planet!"

Cynthia nodded, although slightly surprised Brock had heard of it.

"Really? Where is it held?" Asked Max in wonderment

"It's not held at any particular location, but it's a lot like the battle frontier. There are battle facilities in each of the major cities outside of the five main regions." Brock expertly explained

Max nodded, "I see, so is it tough?"

"Yes!" Brock nearly shouted, "The way I see it is that the Royal line is like the Elite 15, with the last five being 'champions'."

"So who are the champions and how are they appointed?" Asked an equally interested Misty

"They aren't really legit champions, they are just the previous winners of the tournament." Cynthia said

"So how is one accepted to battle the royal line? Is it like the normal Pokémon league?" May asked.

"In a way, but it is much more difficult. One has to deal with a special ranking system. Their rank is based on the ratio of wins to losses. The first rank is Trainer, then Challenger, then Prodigy, then Champion, then Legend." Brock continued his strangely expert analysis

"So you can enter the Championship as a Challenger?" Asked Misty

"No, no. One must be a high ranking Prodigy to win the honor to battle the Royal Line. And even then one must fight against the other top trainers for the chance to battle with them." Cynthia took over for Brock

"Sounds intense." Max said, Dawn and May agreed.

"You know a lot about all this, how so?" Misty asked.

"Being a champion myself I was allowed some exhibition battles against my choice of four of the Royal Legends." Cynthia said, slightly proud

"Nice," Brock said, "I take it you won the line?"

Cynthia then got a sheepish look on her face, "Well, I beat everyone but the final legendary trainer. The guy is practically invincible. Then I get news in Sinnoh that there has been a new addition to the Royal Line. Of course, I was shocked that anyone could get remotely far enough to get added to the ranks, but I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that the man I lost to was no longer holding the top position…"

"Who was it?" Max excitedly, but rudely, interrupted

"His name was Cinder, but the picture of him was unidentifiable. Although he was definitely male, even with his shoulder length hair anyone could tell that. The guy was over six feet tall, and his record said he weighed like 220 pounds." Cynthia said, taking the interruption as a compliment.

"And he wasn't fat?" Asked Brock. 220 pounds was a lot to weigh for someone who was only six feet tall.

"Not in the slightest. I actually managed to meet him once, he was solidly built, but he didn't carry himself like he was more than 17 or 18. There were no age records, but I can assure you that he was young." Cynthia continued her description.

"That's amazing, from the description he kinda reminds me of Red, doesn't he?" Dawn said with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah I guess, but we haven't even seen a picture of him yet." Brock reasoned.

"But still!" Dawn whined slightly

May was so awed by Cinder she acted like she hadn't heard the current bicker, "A kid beating what sounds like the toughest tournament on the planet? He would need even more luck than Ash had."

Brock sensed another awkward silence coming on, so he changed the subject, "Cynthia, this whole time you have been talking about Cinder in past tense, did something happen?"

Cynthia got an angry look on her face, "Yeah, the poor guy was gunned in a fight between the Royal Army and what appeared to be the remnants of the major criminal organizations. It was brutal, the body count exceeded…" Cynthia stopped herself, "Well, let's just say it was a lot."

"What happened to him?" Misty's voice nearly died in her throat, and no matter how much it pained all of them they were all thinking the same thing.

"He died of the injuries, rumors spread that he survived, but if he did no one had heard form him since."

The group got eerily quiet. They had been so into the conversation that they failed to notice they were the only one's (Minus the maintenance crews) in the stadium.

**I owe Primordial Soul a massive thank you, he allowed me to use his concept of the Royal Line, and if you squint you can see that I slightly changed it, but not really. (Put this above the author's note so you guys would see it (Can't have anyone sueing me for it. (That would be bad)))**

* * *

**AN:**

******I made an allusion to the Prequel in this chapter; see if you can guess it. I won't tell you if you're right or wrong (Unless you are way off) because Proven is almost done, so the Prequel will be out relatively soon. I also want a last name for Cinder, PM me or post in a review any ideas. Any name is welcome and all will be considered. Figured I would keep you guys waiting in suspense. Just a filler chapter, probably boring (For that I am sorry) but I had almost no inspiration to write a battle.**The update took a bit of time; believe me I know, I wrote it (Duh). Thanks to **for allowing me to use their idea of the Royal Line, it really means a lot and makes the prequel for this story even longer… no wait, a lot longer. **


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:**

**So, this chapter is a lot of fluff. I am not so good at lovey dovey scenes so if you hate it then that's a problem for you. Bear with me here. Oh, and read the ending note. VERY IMPORTANT! Also, ray shippers this will be a chapter to your best interests.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon, but I have gotten tired of writing these**

* * *

"So your telling me that Brock is onto me?" Ash cried in surprise

A blond haired woman nodded, "Yeah, he accidentally replaced your alias name with your real one. The group seems to really care about you, and Red clearly reminds them of Ash."

"No matter how much I want to come clean, I can't. Ash has been 'deceased' for 4 years, and if I tell everyone that I faked my death it will only increase the sentence." Ash said sadly.

Cynthia was also sad, there was no reason for Ash to need to be isolated like this. He was a good person at heart, anyone who had met him could tell that. Suddenly, an Idea hit her,

"Ash, are you open to the possibility that the whole court case was a complete and utter sham?"

Ash's eyes widened, he hadn't thought of that,

"So you want me to believe a criminal organization or whatever hired out, or disguised themselves as Police just to have me silenced for good?"

Cynthia nodded, it sounded much better when it came out of Ash's mouth.

"So what are you going to do?" Asked Cynthia, she was interested in his thoughts.

"Well I think it's time for some payback." Ash smirked, and Cynthia could practically feel the malice coming from him and his Pikachu.

"New question, how?"

Ash grinned, "I can blow up Team Rocket's 'legal' operations in Cerulean and Celadon city."

"But your battle is tomorrow, and if you win there then you have two weeks to prepare for either me or Wallace. How is that going to work?" Cynthia was now lost, how did he think he could possibly do that in two weeks?

"Simple, but you will have to wait and see." (Nope, doesn't involve the reverse world or Dialga this time) Ash chuckled at Cynthia's special expression she reserved for her 'out of the loop' moments.

"Why can't you tell me now?" Cynthia whined cutely.

Seeing that look on her face made him want to tell her right then and there. But he knew that if he was actually going to go through with this he would need to keep the information to himself.

"Because then it would most likely ruin the plans I have for them." Ash said, his tone becoming more serious

"In what way?" Cynthia asked, slightly offended.

"Well," Ash began, "For starters I wouldn't want a high ranking officer in the Pokémon league to try and squeeze information out of you…"

Ash saw Cynthia open her mouth in defiance against his statement.

"And it would be dangerous and I don't want you getting hurt." Ash finished before the blonde champion could give him a piece of her mind.

Cynthia still wanted to say something, but decide against it. Now matter how much she wanted to help Ash after all that he's been through she knew she would get in the way. But she knew that the real reason he didn't want her coming was because this was personal. They ruined his life years ago, now he was going to ruin theirs.

"Alright, now how about we find something to eat." Ash said softly, trying to stir Cynthia out of her thoughts as well as get her attention.

Cynthia nodded, "Sure. Let's head to that café down the street. I heard they have good, cheap food."

"You know money is no issue, right." Ash chuckled

"I know" Cynthia sighed, "But after this tournament if you or Steven beats me then there will be a multitude of trainers who will try for my title, plus. If I lose my pay grade will drop as well."

Ash grimaced, "Wow, after that I almost want to let you win."

"You sound confident in the fact that you are going to beat Steven. Why?" Cynthia asked, Steven was a powerful trainer, even though not the current champion he was still formidable.

"He's a pushover, if he comes to our next battle with the mindset he had today he will most certainly lose." Ash predicted with conviction.

"Yeah, He did seem…" Cynthia paused for a moment to find the right word, "angrier."

Ash nodded, "Precisely, that is not a successful battle mindset. If there is anything I have learned it's that emotions, not just anger, cloud judgment."

Cynthia realized that this Ash was radically different than the old Ash. Though Red had already proven that, it just sounded so weird coming from Ash. By this time they had reached the café and had sat down at a table.

Ash eyed the blonde champion; she was lost in her own thoughts. He could read her mind if course, but that wouldn't be fair or ethical.

"What do you want to eat?" Ash asked softly, trying to shake Cynthia from her concentrated antisocialism (Thinking to herself).

Cynthia's eyes shot up and she looked at her menu in surprise before calming down remembering where she was, "Sorry, zoned out."

Ash chuckled, "Noticed."

Cynthia thumbed through the menu, while Ash sipped at his water. He already knew what he wanted; in fact he knew a lot of things. But he didn't know what was on Cynthia's mind. And he liked to know things, "So what's on your mind."

Cynthia's eyes darkened in such deep sadness that Ash was sure everyone could feel it rolling off of her in waves. This just caused Ash to want to know more, he wanted to know how an innocent conversation starter could cause all this.

"Well," Cynthia started, "It started like this…"

_Flashback_

"And Garchomp Falls!" The announcer called as the blue land shark hit the ground.

Cynthia's face held a look of utter shock as she watched her starter fail to rise, "I lost"

"Doesn't matter," An older gentleman who was making his way towards her said.

"Why not?" Cynthia asked, surprised. She thought it mattered

"You have more than proven yourself a very capable trainer, and at such a young age. I hear you have just conquered the Sinnoh elite four?" The man said

"Yes, that would make me the new champion." Cynthia replied, a slight amount of her confidence had been restored.

"You fought valiantly for a young woman, you will continue to improve and reach heights you never thought possible. Follow your dreams and we will inevitably meet in conflict once again." The man said mysteriously, then he walked away.

Cynthia was shocked, this man. The man who had beaten her, the man who everyone outside of the five regions told her the sky was the limit. Coming from him she was pretty sure it might have been a compliment.

_Flashback end._

Cynthia was shaken out of her heart to heart with Ash by the rattle of dishes, signaling the arrival of their food.

_'Funny,' _She thought,_ 'I don't remember ordering food.'_

All became clear though as she saw the smirking Pallet native across the table.

"You ordered for me?" She asked incredulously

Ash nodded, "They were getting annoyed that we weren't ordering."

"Oh." Was all she could say.

"That story didn't seem sad, what was with all the emotions?" Ash asked

Cynthia's eyes darkened again, "It was just what he said. _'You fought valiantly for a young woman, you will continue to improve and reach heights you never thought possible. Follow your dreams and we will inevitably meet in conflict once again'._"

"He said that only because he's a psychic," Ash grumbled

"How do you know that?" Cynthia nearly screeched, "I didn't even get his name!"

"Uh…"

_'Well… shit!'_ Ash thought to himself. At least there wasn't a Pikachu to make things worse.

"Well?" Cynthia egged on

"I _used_ to have a friend who was a psychic who knew him quite well." Ash said. It wasn't a lie; in fact it was the truth. No matter how much the 'used to' pained him. He still couldn't believe she was gone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a bad topic" Cynthia apologized quickly.

"Its no problem, I sorta asked for that." Ash said while rubbing the back of neck.

The pair fell into an awkward silence as they finished up their meals briskly. The blue day had long since turned to black night by the time they exited the café.

"You want me to walk you home?" Ash asked.

"You don't think I can take care of myself?" Cynthia huffed indignantly.

"Uh… no… I" Ash struggled to find a good excuse to escape the terrible rage about to be bestowed upon him.

"I know what you mean." Cynthia giggled at the trainer's discomfort, "Thanks for caring."

Then she gave Ash a quick peck on the cheek causing Ash to go red and his eyes to go wide. Cynthia also turned red, but not as red as Ash.

"So… you do want a ride home?" Ash said once the shock had worn off

Cynthia thought for a moment, "A ride would be nice."

"Alright…" Suddenly Ash had a moment of brilliance, "Cynthia, how late do you think it is?"

"Well passed eleven why?" She was confused, to her time was irrelevant right now.

"Latios and Latias, rise!" Ash called, throwing the two unique pokeballs into the sky.

"Who?" Cynthia shouted in surprise.

Before her very eyes the two legendary eon dragons materialized.

"Wow" Cynthia said breathlessly.

Ash smirked, "Impressed?"

_'Ash, what are we doing, and who is she?" _Latios asked, slight hostility laced within his voice when he talked about Cynthia

Latias giggled, _'Isn't it obvious brother, she's Ashies mate!'_

"WHAT!?" Ash and Cynthia screeched simultaneously, coincidentally turning the same shade of red as well.

Latias's giggling increased and the impossible happened, Latios chuckled! (*GASP*)

_'Just playing Ash, but she _is _cute.' _The red eon dragon teased.

"Sure." Ash mumbled, still red.

_'You didn't answer what we were required to do. This isn't a life or death situation, and you said we wouldn't be brought out outside of one. What gives?' _Latios demanded

"Um, we need a lift home?" Ash tried meekly

_'That doesn't count!' _Latios roared

Ash cowered behind Cynthia who gave him a glare.

_'Oh Latios, my Latios. Can't you see this is a love? And that qualifies in my book!' _Latias' voice began like a song, but turned into a cry that made Latios's shout look like a whisper.

_'Yes ma'am!' _Latios said quickly with a mock salute, _'Works for me!'_

"Are they? You know…" Cynthia paused

Ash raised an eyebrow prompting her to go on

"Together?" She said softly so the two arguing _sibling_s couldn't hear them

Ash's eyes widened, "Oh no, their siblings. Latios is older and no offense, but I believe their gender is best explained through their behavior."

"So, not to rush but can we maybe, go?" Cynthia was getting impatient, not that she truly minded spending time with Ash but it was getting cold.

"Oh yeah, sorry" Ash apologized, "Hey tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, let's hit the road."

Both dragons immediately ceased bickering and turned to glare at Ash causing the trainer to adopt another frightened look expression, "Please?"

The dragons laughed at their trainer before lowering their levitation height to allow the two trainers to get on. Latias had grown up in the years following Ash's departure from Altomare and although Latios did not grow, he retained his same skill set. Both were around the same size, but Latios would soon begin the usual growth patters of a teenage dragon and grow immensely in the next few months.

_'Ready?' _Latios questioned

Ash looked at Cynthia who nodded in affirmative, upon seeing that Ash gave Latios a thumbs up. Both eon dragons lifted off the ground and then shot gracefully into the sky.

They flew as high as they dared with Cynthia (Ash could breath at high altitudes because of his aura) and they could barely see the ground. But Cynthia wasn't looking at the ground or lack of. Her eyes were fixated on the beautiful cloud formations. The stars looked like they were a million miles closer and they were breathtaking. Cynthia was shocked as she felt cool and refreshing moisture touch her face,

_'A cloud' _She realized, they had just flown through a cloud.

She was prepared as they shot through the next formation of water vapor and was able to experience the sensation with every sense in her body. There was no true word to explain what she felt, and pure bliss just didn't cover it. Think about it, two legendary Pokémon thousands of feet in the sky with an aura guardian flying through clouds. Wow. (It's official, I'm so jealous!)

She now had no intention of getting back before midnight, in fact. They could return after years and she would be perfectly happy. Suddenly they rose above the first cloud layer, revealing nothing but a pure, clear starry sky.

Suddenly there was an ear-shattering roar, and the legendary guardian of the skies began to soar below them.

Cynthia gasped, impossible. How could that Pokémon know they were here? Suddenly she saw Ash smirk in her direction.

"How?"

But her question was carried away by the wind. Rayquaza then turned and shot towards the sky. With an immense roar the fireworks began. Hyper beams and Ice beams blew holes in the darkness. Latios and Latias cried in glee and sped towards the attacks the legendary dragon was dishing out.

"WAIT!" Cynthia shouted in distress but her discomfort was once again, gone with the wind.

The two legendaries spun and weaved their way through the endless string of attacks with a smile on their faces. Once the attacks halted and the three dragons stopped moving Cynthia could finally let her emotions out.

"That was"

"Legit!" Ash interrupted

_'Stupendous!' _Latias inputted

_'I think the word she's looking for is tremendous!' _Latios said eagerly (Way OOC)

_'I think inspiring!' _Rayquaza called

"Wow" Cynthia finished.

Ash shrugged, "That works"

_'Yeah'_

_'Fine by me'_

_'Same thing'_

Everyone had no concept of what time it is so when the so when natural light began its daily crusade against the darkness Ash paled.

"SHIT!" He shouted

_'Language!' _Rayquaza lectured

"Sorry"

The two eon dragons giggled and Cynthia was stupefied, _'did a legendary Pokémon just reprimand Ash?'_

"Want to watch the sunrise?" Cynthia asked

"Can't hurt now." Ash grinned

"God, I feel like such a teenager!" Cynthia said

Ash's eyes widened, "Your not?"

"20, so no." She said simply

"Eh, close enough" Ash said with another smirk and began to hum the tune to Young, Wild and Free.

_'Views don't get much better than this!' _Rayquaza chuckled.

Latios smiled softly, _'Only up here can it look this good!'_

Latias and Cynthia were silenced by the incredible show that was on display before them. The whole sky was lit up as the dawn broke, turning the sky the beautiful blue Ash adored so much.

"Time to go." Ash said sadly once the blue had been replaced with the customary oranges, reds and yellows.

_'I must take my leave as well, I have some stuff to do.' _Rayquaza said.

_'He means he has to go and fly somewhere else' _Latios mocked

_'Quiet you.'_

_'Bye Ray-Ray!' _Latias called childishly

_'Bye little Latias' _Rayquaza chuckled.

In a blur the Hoenn legendary disappeared, and the two other Hoenn legendaries started their descent.

Cynthia had loved what she had just gone through, but she still had one or two questions that she needed answers for, "how?"

"I called in a few favors." Ash smirked

"Favors that a legendary Pokémon owed you?" She gasped.

Ash smiled nervously, "Maybe."

"But why?" Cynthia fretted, "What was so special about tonight?"

"Consider this our official first date."

_'If this is Ash's idea of a first date then I can only dream about what his idea of a honey moon would be' _She giggled to herself before she stopped and blushed, _'Honey moon? Where did that come from.'_

Ash was no longer dense, but even now he was still lost on the thoughts of women. So when he saw Cynthia deep in her own mind he thought it best to stay out. Besides, Cynthia's hotel was coming into view.

"Hey Cynthia, we're gonna touch down soon. Hope your legs didn't fall asleep."

"Wha…?" Cynthia said dumbly before recovering her composure, "Oh yeah, I'm good."

Ash raised an eyebrow, "You alright, you've been spacing out a lot lately."

Cynthia shook her head, "I'm fine, Ash."

Ash raised the other eyebrow

"Really, I'm alright!" She insisted

"Okay, but you can't sit on Latias all day." Ash said while tapping his foot on the_ ground_.

"What do you mean? We have to land before I can get off… oh" Cynthia finished as she eyed the ground with a confused stare. The Champion hopped off the dragon and yawned.

"So sleepy" She mumbled

"Alright, we still got a bit of walking to do, so don't fall asleep on me." Ash said humorously.

_Time skip_

It was morning and there was knocking on Cynthia's door. This woke up both of the occupants of the room.

"I'll get it!" A male voice said.

Big mistake!

"Red? What the heck are you doing here?" Max said in shock

"Oh… I uh… me and Cynthia were…"

"Cynthia and I_" _Misty interrupted

"Fine" Ash grumbled, "Cynthia and _I_ were out late last night at one of those open late cafés, and afterwards we were sitting on a park bench and she fell asleep. We weren't too far from her hotel so I carried her here. It was late so I stayed the night."

Brock waggled his eyebrows at Ash, who responded with the appropriate eye-roll and sigh.

_'Nice save,' _Thought a now half awake Cynthia, _'Still relatively embarrassing, but it would be better if they didn't find out about what happened last night'_

"I'll be out in a sec guys." Cynthia said sleepily

"Sure thing! We'll be chilling in the lobby." Max said excitedly.

Cynthia thought she heard Max say something about how awesome it was that they were chilling in a lobby waiting for a champion. This caused her to giggle. She didn't isolate herself like Lance or Alder, and wasn't addicted to the paparazzi like Wallace. She was sort of, a median between the champions. She didn't dress like a fashionably challenged lunatic (Wallace); she didn't have odd mood swings (Lance), and had no tragic event that happened in her past (Alder). In other words, she was probably the most down to earth of the champions.

"Hey Ash?" Cynthia asked once she was sure the door was shut and everyone filed out

"Yeah?" She heard the response from the bathroom.

"Did I actually fall asleep on you?" She asked

"Um… If I said yes would you be pissed?" She heard over the sound of water

"Maybe I will maybe I won't." She said in an indifferent tone

"Umm… then maybe?" Ash tried

"Ash Ketchum if you don't tell me then I'm coming in that bathroom!" She ranted

Ash visibly paled

"Well?" She said impatiently

"…"

"I'm waiting?"

"Yes." Ash mumbled

"Thank you" She said calmly

"You're not mad?" Said a surprised Ash

"Nope, why would I be mad?" She said, she saw no reason to be angry

"I don't really know" Ash shrugged, then he turned off the water, "Just wasn't willing to take that chance"

"Hurry up!" Cynthia demanded, "I have to shower too!"

"Alright!" Ash growled. Then there was a loud thump and she heard Ash swearing.

Cynthia raised a confused eyebrow, "You okay?"

"Yeah!"

His voice sounded strained

"You dressed?" She asked

"Yeah!"

His voice was strained

"I'm coming in!" She said, ignoring the 'wait!' from Ash. She was not expecting what she saw when she opened the door. An Ash only half dressed (Pants, no shirt) was using his towel to stop a large flow of water coming from the shower.

"Turn it off!" She yelled.

Ash chuckled nervously, "About that"

He removed the towel to reveal a large gaping hole in the wall that was the source of the torrent of water.

"Oh"

Epic face palm!

* * *

**AN:**

**All right, OOC, out of place, and probably not my best chapter. I don't think I did this chapter justice, if someone wants to help a bro out and edit this for me. Maybe change it up to make it flow better it would be a lifesaver. If not, then let this be kindling for the flames. Now, this is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! It's about this story predecessor. Yup, not even gonna call it a prequel anymore cause it isn't one. It will still hold the same characters as discussed such as Sapphire and Cinder (If you didn't guess what the allusion was I feel kinda bad for you) as well as the same back-story and Cynthia and the gang will make a cameo. But it will be a whole different concept. Much more violent, much less organized Pokémon battling and much more utter chaos battles deciding life and death. Normally I would consult you guys before making a decision like this, but my heart and mind are pretty much set on it (Sorry).**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:**

**All right, for anyone who is confused about what happened last chapter Ash put a hole in the wall. As to how that happened… I let your imagination fill in the rest (Its up to you, make it how you want in to be). HEY, YOU! YEAH YOU! Check out my profile page for some important updates on the prequel if you haven't already! Also, this chapter was updated rather quickly from when i had written the draft for it, so i apologize for any errors that you guys find. Post in a review and I will fix them. Anyone want to help me fix up these battle scenes that would be a life saver!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon. Not even a little bit**

* * *

"Finally, the author has found the inspiration to write the battle scene… I mean the battle between Red and Steven is finally upon us!" Cried the announcer who was just as hyped up as the crowd.

"Wow!" Max said excitedly as he eyed the two stone-faced contestants

"I know, I can't believe it's finally happening!" Said a giddy May.

"Quiet!" Dawn hushed them, "The battles about to start."

The ref walked up to the podium and said the customary rules, "This will be a five on five battle between Steven Stone and Red Satoshi! Seeing as the red trainer selected his Pokémon during the prior battle, the green trainer will chose first this match."

Ash shrugged, "I can deal, Flare, It's battle time!"

"And Red goes with an intimidating Volcarona! Being part fire-type it will be a good match up against Steven's steel types!" The announcer shouted into his microphone

Steven grinned, "Hook and Line! Armaldo, Fight with honor!"

Ash's eyes widened slightly, Armaldo wasn't a steel type! Why would Steven bother, and more importantly how was he allowed to become a champion with more than one Pokémon that weren't his specialty type?

"Helios, use flamethrower!" Ash called. He wanted to test out what Steven was going to rely on. Armaldo's have very high attack and defense stat, and both can be used effectively if trained in the right way. Now he just needed to find out how to counter.

"Cut through that with Crush Claw!" Steven called

Ash grinned, _'He's toast!'_

Armaldo had successfully dispelled the attack and was charging in; ready to deal some major damage, but too bad it wouldn't be able to.

"Flare, use Lava Plume!" Ash called victoriously

"Use Protect!" Steven called, desperate to save his Pokémon. But his order went unheard and the intense fire attack singed the rock and bug type. Once the smoke subsided Armaldo was shown standing (Unsurprisingly) and with a few burns and scuffs, but to be honest. The only thing that attack did was make it angry.

"Good, Show crush claw but then switch to water pulse." Steven ordered quietly so Ash would be unable to hear him

Armaldo began charging, his claws glowing showing signs of crush claw.

But as soon as Ash ordered a fire spin to counter the crush claw, the only way he could avoid the surprise water pulse was with a last second double team.

"Volcarona's fast, how is it so fast?" Steven questioned, temporarily ignoring the multiple Volcaronas

"I train my Pokémon to obey me without hesitation. So it's all down to how fast I can react. And I have good reactions." Ash said confidently.

Steven grinned, "Then we'll just have to see if you're right, Armaldo use Ancient Power"

Ash was not concerned however, even though the attack was almost certain to take out all the copies and had a fifty percent chance of putting Armaldo on steroids he was confident in his Pokémon's abilities.

"Wait for my call." Ash ordered

His Pokémon gave no visual acceptance, but Ash was positive it understood him. The rock attack devastated all of the copies but none of them stuck around to hit the ground like the real one would.

Suddenly, it hit Steven, "Above you!"

Armaldo's gaze shot towards the sky but found itself blinded by the sun and Ash couldn't help but grin.

_'So simple, yet so effective' _Ash thought, then he said "We've got him in a corner, Use Overheat!"

Armaldo couldn't see where the attack was coming from, and Steven's directions were just confusing him. With the 'teamwork' between Armaldo and Steven the results of the attack was inevitable. The beam of white-hot fire grabbed hold of Armaldo, and didn't release its fiery grasp until Armaldo had been acquainted with the stadium wall. Armaldo fell to one knee, but was still able to continue the fight.

_'Really?' _Ash groaned, _'Again!' _

Armaldo had been juiced up by the Ancient power attack. This just wasn't his battle. Steven grinned, "Use Giga Impact!"

"We'll play along, show Steven how much you want this battle! Use flare blitz!" Ash ordered

As Armaldo shot towards Volcarona he became enveloped in the purple and gold energy, but his charge was halted by the flaming charge of Volcarona. The hit sent a shockwave throughout the stadium, and before either had a chance to attempt to overpower one another there was an explosion. The blast caused the Pokémon to cut the attacks as both Pokémon found themselves hurtling in opposite directions. Ash raised an eyebrow. That was one strong Armaldo. Even after he dished out insane damage it could still fight on equal footing with one his stronger Pokémon. Both Pokémon struggled their way to their feet and glared at each other.

Then, without warning or orders both Pokémon launched a hyper beam and Overheat respectively. The beams clashed in the middle, and everyone shielded their eyes, expecting another explosion. But the blast didn't' happen. In fact, the only notable event was when Armaldo's beam started to falter and Volcarona's Overheat powered through it. It fought until it was able to blast its way into Armaldo, officially ending the battle.

"Armaldo is unable to battle! Volcarona wins!" The ref cried, raising the green flag in Ash's direction.

"And sinker." Ash said while smirking at Steven who was recalling his fallen Pokémon.

"Be prepared Red, Skarmory! Take the field

But Ash's smirk was gone in an instant; there was no way Volcarona could fight again. But he needed to keep him in the battle. Just give him a quick break.

"Flare return. I choose you, Burst!" Ash called, returning his Volcarona and calling out his Houndoom.

"And Red keeps the type advantage on his side. But will it be enough?" Shouted the announcer

"Fire won't save you this time, Red. I wasn't a champion for nothing." Steven sneered causing Ash to shrug. He didn't care what Steven said, but he knew something was up. Steven was not normally this bitchy, nor did he flaunt around his title. He also was not battling on champion caliber; his previous matches had been precise and strategic. This one he was falling for simple tricks, Ash was beginning to get worried.

"Shut up and battle, I'm tired of you." Ash answered coldly

"If you insist, Skarmory fly at that Houndoom with iron head!" Steven ordered

Ash sighed, "Use flamethrower then iron tail"

Houndoom fired the flame attack, slowing Skarmory's assault enough to smash it into the ground with a vicious iron tail.

"You better have something better than that, Lance was 10 times tougher than you" Ash figured that maybe insulting his pride would bring his opponent back to reality.

Steven growled, "Use hyper beam!"

Even Skarmory hesitated at the terrible command, but complied regardless and soon a devastating orange beam was well on its way towards Ash's Pokémon

"Use Overheat to counter!" Ash commanded, he wanted to get through to Steven and maybe raw power was the answer. Make him think around his offense

Both beams collided and exploded immediately, covering the field from view. But Ash wasn't about to give Skarmory a break, "Use Iron tail followed by Shadow ball!"

The smoke had not dissipated yet, but Skarmory's cries of pain cut through the fog, making spectators wince.

Steven had finally endured enough of this, "Into the sky! Use our advantage!"

_'Took him long enough,' _Ash thought, maybe Steven was getting back to reality

"Charge with steel wing!" Steven ordered

Ash sighed, _'Or not,' _"Use faint attack to dodge then end this with flamethrower"

Just before the impact Houndoom faded from view and without a target Skarmory crashed into the ground. This gave Houndoom the opening he needed to finish this battle. Skarmory could do nothing as the flamethrower ate up the distance between the two Pokémon, then his vision turned to darkness as the flames enveloped him.

"Skarmory is unable to continue! Houndoom is the victor of this round!" The ref raised his flag in Ash's direction

"And Red has defeated Skarmory without receiving any blows. What has gotten into Steven?" The announcer asked the question on everyone's mind

Steven was now seething with rage, "Claydol! Get me on the board!"

Ash knew he was in trouble, but he also knew that this was another mark against the former champion. Claydol should have been his anchor; if he had truly done research then he would have known he had more powerful fire types itching to demoralize his steel types. But he needed to take out this Claydol, and then his final two Pokémon would be easier with three or four fresh Pokémon.

"Houndoom, use dark pulse!" Ash called to his Pokémon

His Pokémon launched the attack instantaneously, but the dark pulse was intercepted by a rapid spin.

Ash grimaced, he would need physical attacks to win this, "Charge in with iron tail, then before contact use faint attack combined with dark pulse!"

Houndoom began running towards Claydol, his tail glowing with silver energy

"Claydol!" Steven called, "Counter with head butt!"

But Claydol was unpleasantly surprised as his target vanished. The large Pokémon had put all of his weight into the attack and he now had nothing to balance out the weight so he was soon attacking the ground.

"Behind you! Hyper beam!" Steven shouted desperately

Claydol turned in panic and fired the hyper beams; the beams passed on either side of the dark pulse and smashed into a shocked fire type. The explosion from both attacks sent both combatants reeling, but as Houndoom was airborne the only thing stopping his flight was the stadium wall. After a moment Claydol dragged its way up, as did Houndoom.

Ash was in a tough spot, Houndoom was in trouble and Volcarona wouldn't stand a chance, he needed to deal more damage.

"Use shadow ball!" Ash ordered

"Counter with psybeam!"

"Faint attack!"

"Rapid spin!"

Strategy was thrown out the window as both Pokémon exchanged power blows, but neither could get the upper hand until Steven did something Ash wasn't expecting

"Earthquake!"

Ash gasped, _'How can a Pokémon with levitate use earthquake?' _"Quick, jump!"

And jump Houndoom did, but the hang time was shortened by exhaustion. And Houndoom came down before the earthquake was completed. The intensity of the shaking shook Houndoom all the way into unconsciousness.

"And Steven strikes back! Could this be a turning point in the battle?" cried a happy announcer.

_In the stands_

"Maybe we can get the battle we paid for!" Max groaned

"Uh, Max? We didn't pay for these." Brock said

"Huh?"

"Yeah" Misty said, "There free for the competitors and a certain number of friends"

"Oh"

_On the field_

Ash saw Steven smirking victoriously and sighed. One Pokémon was not going to decide this battle, something was definitely wrong with Steven.

"Flare, save my next Pokémon the trouble and destroy this petty opponent!" Ash shouted. He was beginning to lose patience with Steven's impudence.

Ash's Volcarona appeared back on the field, and its scuffle with Armaldo was still visible as it was panting and had multiple cuts and bruises. But Claydol was also struggling. Even with a type advantage Houndoom was no opponent to turn your back to. This battle would come down to willpower, and Ash had plenty of that.

"Looks like your just lining up your Pokémon for the slaughter house. Oh well, I wont stop you!" Steven sneered.

Ash was this close (Umm, insert tiny finger gap here) from walking out onto that field and kicking the living shit out of that pitiful, despicable human being known as the former champion of Hoenn, but he was prepared to allow his Pokémon to do the embarrassing in his place.  
"Use heat wave!" Ash ordered

"Use sandstorm to halt that _fire _attack!" Steven spat the word fire as if it were the worst tasting thing he had ever consumed.

The sandstorm and the flamethrower battled it out in the middle, both attacks fighting for dominance until they couldn't fight anymore. When that moment happened both attacks dispersed their respective opponents, blending the colors of red and brown in a beautiful and deadly display.

"Use Fiery Dance!" Ash ordered, If Steven had used stats to his advantage then so could he.

"Counter with rapid spin!" Steven shouted, desperate to stop the powerful attack

But Claydol was unable to reach Volcarona in time, because a fiery swirl much like that of a petal dance erupted from around Volcarona and shot into the sky. But the pillar of fire was far from done, and it arced through the sky before bringing its entire angry wrath down on Claydol.

Ash heard Steven cuss, and Ash would have cussed if he were in Steven's position; Three Pokémon down before the half and Ash had only been burdened with the loss of one. If Steven were going to pull himself out of this hole he would need to bee top notch for the rest of the battle, and truthfully his skills had been slightly less than top notch (Yes, sarcasm is hard to express in non dialogue writing). Before the ref had a chance to raise his flags however two familiar orange beams blasted through the leftover smoke and smashed into the unsuspecting Volcarona. This caused a large explosion that sent an unconscious Volcarona straight into its unsuspecting trainer.

While Ash was struggling to get his Pokémon off of him, the ref, crowd and announcer were still attempting to process what had just happened. The ref observed the field; clearly Volcarona wasn't budging, as his trainer was still continuing to prove, and there was no way Claydol could even continue floating. So the referee used his powerful gift of deduction and officially ended the match in a draw.

"I don't believe it folks!" The announcer shouted excitedly, "Steven has managed to even the odds even more in his favor! Now only being down one Pokémon going into the half!"

Ash meanwhile, was dumbstruck at the radical turn of events. Normally _he_ was the one getting back into a battle by luck,

_'Eh,' _He shrugged, _'Guess karma really is a bitch.'_

* * *

**AN:**

**As earlier, check out my profile page for some info on the prequel, and also… I have decided that this schedule is simply not working out with my school schedule, so I have decided to kill my fanfiction schedule and just sorta freelance it. So updates will most likely be slower and also much more unpredictable. **


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:**

**As earlier, check out my profile page for some info on the prequel, and also… I'm so sorry for updating so late. The explanation is at the end. Hope you enjoy. I wrote this chapter on a budget of time, so don't be disheartened or angry if it's not up to par.**

* * *

Ash sat in his locker room, brooding over the random hyper beam that Claydol fired. What were the odds that a reflexive hyper beam would fire, and on target no less?

Ash sighed, "This is so weird. Steven is having the worst battle of his career and is not pushing me to use combo attacks. And yet he has taken out two of my Pokémon (Four over the course of the match). At least he only has two left, right buddy?"

Pikachu nodded, _'It's a shame I'm not in there, I would turn Steven's Pokémon to scrap metal!'_

"Leave that to my fire types, they'll turn this battlefield into a smelting factory" Ash proclaimed confidently.

_'Am I allowed to come out this half?_

Ash grinned, "Sorry, Pi. Its against the rules."

_'Aw come on! I'll be good, I promise!' _Pikachu pleaded

"Nope, not happening buddy. You're stuck in here." Ash said with a cheeky grin on his face

_'No fair!' _Pikachu cried childishly, then the little yellow Pokémon sat down with his back to his trainer.

Ash shrugged his shoulders; his ten minutes were up anyhow.

"Trainers, please report back to the battlefield!"

_'Thought so' _Ash smirked in confidence as he strode down the tunnel, in the direction of the battlefield.

As he neared the end of the tunnel the light nearly blinded Ash, and the cheers nearly deafened him. But all this did was get him pumped for the second half of the battle.

But all his happy thoughts were crumpled up and thrown out the window when Ash heard his opponent speak, "Well Red, ready for your advantage to be neutralized?"

Ash rolled his eyes, "No. Ready for _your_ chance at winning this battle to be neutralized?"

Before Steven could retort the ref interrupted with the usual "Trainers ready?"

Both nodded, prompting the statement, "Begin!"

"I choose you!" Ash called, throwing his ball.

"An impressive Pokemon" Steven said sarcastically as he eyed Ash's chosen competitor.

"You can insult all you want, but Saffron is gonna destroy your Aggron."

How did you know? I haven't even sent him out yet?" a baffled Steven called in disbelief.

"I do my homework." Ash said simply

"Well I won't let your studying go to waste. Aggron, battle time!"

The massive Pokémon materialized shouting its name in dominance. And the flame on Typhlosion's back grew in size at the prospect of a challenge.

"Turn up the heat!" Ash shouted.

The air began to heat up alarmingly fast due to Typhlosion's heat wave.

"Stop him!" Steven screeched, "Iron head!"

"Idiot," Ash muttered, "When he gets close use Lava plume!"

"NO!" Steven cried in frustration as Aggron was flung back with multiple burns of its front, "Use water pulse!"

Ash resisted the urge to face palm, "Why the hell didn't he use that to counter heat wave? Stop it with flamethrower."

In a show of true power Aggron willed the water pulse through the flamethrower until it connected with Typhlosion. However, by the time it reached Typhlosion it was only weak enough to elicit a grunt.

"Use water pulse and ice beam!" Steven cried.

Ash smirked; it was a combo Nolan's Articuno had used way back in the day (lol). Ash was about to order a dig to dodge but Steven demanding an earthquake attack interrupted him.

"Uh oh… Use lava plume once again!" Ash ordered. He had no hope of dodging all of the ice and earthquake, so he chose to avoid the dangerous ice shards and instead opted to test Aggron's special attack power.

"Now earth power!" Steven called triumphantly

"Shit" Ash cursed, now regretting his descision.

Typhlosion was busy enduring the powerful quake and was left wide open to the earth power, which didn't miss the opportunity. The super effective attack sent the Fire type to the ground, but Ash's worry skyrocketed.

"Can you stand?" Ash called in concern

Typhlosion shakily getting to its feet answered his question.

"Excellent," Ash grinned, "Time to end this, flame wheel!"

Typhlosion rolled up into a fiery ball of death and shot in Aggron's direction.

"Stop it with water pulse!" Steven called.

Unfortunately foe Ash, Flame wheel's user is unable to see anything while using the attack, but Ash had other methods, "To the right!"

Typhlosion obeyed, and changed course slightly to avoid the super effective attack. Then continued on course to dish some pain back to Aggron.

"Rapid fire water pulse!" Steven shouted desperately

"Don't give him the time of day," Ash ordered coldly, he had long since grown tired of Steven's attitude, "Eruption!"

Just as the first water pulse had left Aggron's mouth, Typhlosion _erupted _in white searing flames as one of the most powerful attacks was unleashed. The water attack was vaporized almost instantaneously, and Aggron stood no chance against a volcanic eruption directed entirely at him.

The flames consumed Aggron, and the momentum slung his into the wall. But this being an Aggron, part of the stadium also collapsed in on itself. The ref had come out of his hiding spot behind his podium and surveyed the results. The heap of rubble and Aggron was unmoving, so in a shaky voice he announced the verdict, "Aggron i-is unable to b-battle… Typhlosion wins!"

Steven reluctantly returned his Pokémon with nothing to say at all, and Ash noticed. However, he chose to ignore it and returned his own Pokémon with a thanks and congratulations.

Now Ash glared at Steven, "You're treating your Pokémon like peons, what is wrong with you?"

There, he had openly insulted the Hoenn champion on national television. But he didn't care, the Pokémon had always mattered more and would always matter more than his public rep.

Steven ignored him and looked at the ref, urging him to get on with the match.

"Right, Trainers! Choose your next Pokémon!" He shouted.

"I'll give you a chance and I'll go first, but it won't matter cause we all know who your last Pokémon is." Ash sneered throwing his ball.

"And it's a monstrous Charizard!" The announcer shouted as the behemoth came out of his pokeball.

With a mighty roar Charizard fired a powerful flamethrower into the air. Asserting its dominance.

"Nice pet," Steven sneered, "But now its time for a real monster!"

Steven threw a ball that contained an admittedly iconic monster.

"And Metagross finally makes his appearance!" Shouted the announcer in glee

True to the announcer the dual type materialized. And the roar of the crowd deafened Ash from hearing Steven's over" confident insult. But the people have a right to dhout, Metagross was often a child's inspirational Pokémon. Even if Charizard is cooler (A/N… :)

"Lets hope your Metagross lasts longer than your pride!" Ash shouted over the crowd.

Steven grit his teeth, "Show this fool true power! Meteor Mash!"

The large Pokémon began dashing at the orange fire lizard with its right claw glowing with cosmic might.

"If he wants to battle with power then we have a right to oblige, Ruby, Fire Punch!" Ash cried

The two beasts clashed in an explosion (Literally) of power. As the smoke cleared the crowd still had the excitement of watching the two continue their fight for dominance, until another blast shielded them from view. This time when the smoke cleared both Pokémon were on their respective sides, with Charizard looking worse off than Metagross.

Ash raised an eyebrow, _'What a Pokémon, eh, strategy time' _

"Use Flamethrower!"

"Disperse that with Psychic!" Steven called triumphantly

Ash growled as the flames were blocked, and then extinguished by an invisible force.

"Use Psychic again!" Steven ordered

The attack struck home and Charizard was forced roughly into the stadium wall in a burst of dust.

"Shake it off and take to the sky!" Ash called, praying his Pokémon was able to get up fast enough.

"I don't think so!" Steven cackled, slowly but surely he was gaining back control of the battle, "Use Psychic once again!"

Charizard had shaken off the impact, but with his head still fuzzy the dragon was unable to get far. Leaving easy pickings for the pseudo-legendary. The attack grabbed hold of Charizard before slamming him into the ground with crushing force.

"Don't give in!" Ash shouted when it became apparent that Steven's assault was not letting up.

The Psychic attack still pinned Charizard to the dirt, and Metagross was charging a hyper beam. However, Ash knew that in order to fire a finishing hyper beam Metagross would have to lapse its psychic, meaning Charizard would have a split second to break free. Charizard had managed to push itself onto all fours and was now in a crawling position, forearms holding it up while its back legs were forced to kneel.

"Be ready!" Ash called to his Pokémon, who was glaring daggers at the Metagross.

"Fire!"

"Jump, then Flare blitz!"

In an immediate response Charizard vaulted over the incoming hyper beam and then shot towards Metagross while being covered by the aura representing the most powerful physical fire attack. The explosion was massive, and Metaross was propelled out of the smoke and into the wall. The crowd was on edge, had Steven been defeated with 5 Pokémon? The smoke cleared showing a battle was still to be fought, with a battered Metagross and an energized Charizard.

Ash smirked, "Time to take it to him! Ariel ace into Steel wing!"

"Light screen!" Steven called to counter

Charizard flew in a large loop to gain momentum, then shot toward the steel type with a deafening roar. To defend itself, Metagross erected a barrier of pure light. But nothing could stop a Charizard moving at 100 miles per hour. Charizard reappeared just as it connected with the barrier; its charge was temporarily halted. The crowd thought that the barrier had saved Metagross from a world of pain, but as cracks became visible the barrier weakened, and Charizard powered through the barrier. Shattering it into a million pieces. Metagross's savior failed to even save itself. But instead of the conventional steel wing Charizard put both wings over its head and began to spin, like a drill peck but a steel type. The attack sent Metagross reeling, and Steven watched in horror as his prized Pokémon fell to the ground.

"And that could be it folks!" The announcer cried as he eyed Metagross

Charizard roared as it landed in front of Ash, then roared louder as he saw the thumbs up from his trainer.

"Get up Metagross! We will not lose!" Steven shouted _at _his Pokémon.

Ash growled, _'now I _know_ something is off.'_

"It's over Steven. Don't be sore, you're at fault." Ash reprimanded, beginning to walk over to the champion. But his march was halted when Steven suddenly fell to the ground, unmoving. Well, when I saw halted…

Ash was now sprinting over to Steven, _'What the hell?' _He slid in beside the Hoenn champion but noticed something off about him, specifically an orange highlight along one of the front bangs. Ash growled, _'Brodie!' _

Medics ran over and checked his pulse, and Ash gave them a glare that said get away. Get away they did, without revealing the horror of what happened,.

Ash turned to the anxious crowd, "Steven's fine, just dehydration!" He shouted

The crowd let out an audible sigh.

"I thought Steven was gone!" Max was nearly crying, Steven had been one of his idols and inspirations and him battling the way he did shook him to his core.

May nodded, "If he passed Hoenn would not be a fun place to go back too."

"Too right," Brock inputted, "Red must be very talented though. Steven looked like a little kid being pushed around out there."

"I've seen Steven go toe to toe with the best, and Red _is_ the best. Steven was not on his game." Norman said.

The kids jumped, they had forgotten Max's parents had attended the match as well, they had been so quiet.

Back in the locker room…

_Smash_

"Why the hell is he alive!?"

_Smash_

"I killed him! And Tabitha!"

_Smash_

"And Team Magma disbanded years ago!"

_Smash_

"Unless…"

_Crack_

"Ow"

Pikachu laughed at his trainer who was now cradling his hand.

Ash eyed the wall with contempt and before he reprimanded the rodent he smashed the wall to bits with an aura sphere.

Satisfied that he could see into the next locker room over (Cynthia's ;) he rounded on Pikachu, "Come one, Pi. This is serious if Team Rocket is back together then we have a real problem."

Pikachu nodded, calming down, _"Well, what do you think we should do?"_

Ash grinned, "Smuggled Brodie out of the hospital and have little chat with him."

Pikachu smirked, _"I'm good with that"_

"Well we have to wait for night to get that done, so lets head to the Pokémon center, and fast so we avoid all the haters from Hoenn and the crazed fans." Ash proposed, although he didn't really wait for Pikachu's approval. He was out the door before he finished.

Just as they opened the door to leave Ash remembered something, "OH SHIT! We don't know where Steven is!"

* * *

**A/N: Now you know what was up with Steven, and no, there will be no rematch sorry. Now, I had better apologize: sorry about the wait, but in between my regular homework I have been having four lacrosse games per week. I have had a crazy few weeks with essays, tests, the lot. So sorry and I promise the next chapter will be up as fast as possible. Oh yeah, and I also had writers block. Any errors? Post in a review and I'll see what I can do.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: My dear readers, I hope that this wait was bearable. I tried and tried but came up short of my goal. Actually late of my goal. But enough of me blabbering about irrelevant stuff, chapter 15 awaits. ACTUALLY! WARNING! This chapter starts out light hearted but is extremely long and is a lot darker and more violent then the previous chapter. These are the chapters why this story is rated M. Anyway, this chapter leaves a lot of loose ends. All of which will be answered in chapter 16.**

* * *

Ash was pacing, Ash was worried, Pikachu was annoyed.

"_Ash, what the hell are you waiting for? We have to find Steven!" _The anxious mouse questioned

"Pikachu, we can't just search around in the dark for something and then when we find it shout that we want it back. Something that stupid only works against Team Rocket…" Ash quieted towards the end, obviously in thought

"_What?" _Pikachu asked

"Let's go, Pi."

"_Oh, I get it." _Pikachu said, finally him and Ash were on the same page.

The little yellow mouse jumped onto his shoulder as he walked out of the locker room and in the direction of the Pokémon center. Once the trainer arrived at the center he asked Nurse Joy to heal his Pokémon, which she agreed to. Then with Pikachu in tow, he headed towards the hospital.

The pristine glass doors slid open, catching the man behind the desk's attention.

"What can I do for you, sir?" He asked kindly.

"I would like to see Steven Stone." Ash said

"Are you a friend?"

Ash nodded, "We've known each other for a while, yeah."

"Right this way." The man said, gesturing for Ash to follow.

Ash tailed the man as he led Ash through a maze of blinding white walls and countless rooms. As they passed what seemed like the 1,000th door Ash thought they would never find the room, and they would be stuck in the hospital for all eternity. Much to Ash's displeasure the man continued to lead him through the maze until finally, he halted.

"This is Mr. Stone's room, Room number 855 J. Please do not take more than 30 minutes. I will be waiting outside." The man said with a bow, then he proceeded to walk down the isle and into an unknown room.

"Thanks?" Ash said to the now unoccupied space in front of him. He looked at Pikachu but all he got was a shrug in response, "Right, in we go!"

Ash opened and closed the door as he walked into the room that was surprise, surprise, white. As Ash took in the room he noticed something, the room was rather pristine for a place that housed one of the most disrespectful people he had met. Suddenly, he realized something and ran to the door. He tried to turn the door handle but found it would not budge.

"Shit!" Ash cursed, "I knew it!"

"_We can always jump?" _Pikachu suggested, causing Ash to give him a weird look

"Pi, we have to be at least 20 floors up, even if we were 5 I wouldn't jump." Ash explained exasperatedly.

"_How about three stories?" _Pikachu asked with a smirk

"Why does that even matter, Pi you saw how many stairs we walked up and down…" Ash paused as he came to grips with what he just said, "Pi, hope cats really do always land on their feet!"

"_I'm a mouse dumbass!" _Pikachu said angrily.

Ash had already leapt through the window and into the relentless pull of gravity. But before he disappeared form view he turned and gave Pikachu a salute, "Same thing!" And then plummeted to the earth.

Pikachu sighed, why did he end up with the crazy trainer. But soon the mouse had a wild smirk on his face and was jumping just like his crazy trainer.

However, Pikachu soon realized that Ash's logic hadn't exactly been spot on, while it sort of had. They were indeed two or three stories from the ground, but what they hadn't anticipated was the hospital was built next to a lake. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the Kanto/Johto water isn't exactly welcoming. Soon the pair had made impact with the ice-cold water, and were swimming away from some angry Gyarados.

Ash was now thanking every god he knew of that he had lost that bet and had to take swimming lessons, although the water in Hoenn had been much warmer. But then again, there weren't any Gyarados either. He was swimming as hard as he could and the latter that would take him out of the concrete hell were in sight. Ash nearly stopped swimming as he saw the concrete lining the edges of the 'lake', but he pushed aside the thoughts and focused on surviving.

He reached the ladder and hauled himself up the first few rungs, but his arms burned from all the swimming and his wet clothes didn't make it easier. But the angry Gyarados gave him enough strength to get to the next rung and swing his legs up so they didn't get vaporized like the unlucky wall by a joint hype beam.

By now Ash was done worrying about his safety, and given the fact that his Pokémon shouldn't be tired because he had done all the swimming, he figured Pikachu could buy him some time.

"Pi, want to help out with a thunderbolt?" Although it was a question, Pikachu knew for safety reasons he had no choice but to oblige. Leaping up into the air so he wouldn't shock Ash, Pikachu let loose. Allowing the lightning to arc everywhere, but he had no need to aim. After all, anything in the water was completely screwed.

True to the author's word, all the Gyarados were receiving a shocking surprise and Ash found the strength to haul himself up the ladder and away from danger. Ash's new vantage point gave him a clear view of the 'lake', and realized that it was a man made lake. He imagined it was for decoration, but what he was concerned about was why he had never seen it before.

"Must be for tourists," He said more to himself than to anyone else, "As well as very knew."

"_Whatever, lets get that annoying pussy ass bitch Brody and kiss his magma ass all the way to Hoenn" _Pikachu said angrily.

"Language Pi, we don't want to offend any readers." Ash reprimanded

"_Sorry readers." _

"Now, to find Brody and kick his Magma ass all the way back to Hoenn." Ash smirked and Pikachu grinned

"_And break!" _Pikachu said sarcastically (Not sure how you spell break when you brake the huddle during football. Close enough though).

The angry and soggy pair stalked off in the direction of the hospital, hoping to accidentally run into Brody. And sure enough, as he walked through the front door the same guy behind the desk went wide eyed, but then regained his composure and asked the same question as before.

"How can I help you again sir?" he deskman said.

Ash ignored him and walked up to the man, and regarded him for a moment, then without warning slammed him against the wall by his shirt collar.

"What are you doing?" The man croaked out

"Where's Steven?" Ash asked

"You saw him! In room 855 J!" The man cried, now desperate.

Ash smirked and shoved him into a wall, "Wrong answer."

"I'm not lying!" The man was nearly crying.

"Tell me one more lie. Let's see what happens." Ash threatened with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"I wont tell!" Suddenly the man's voice was no longer the same, it sounded different.

"Wrong again" Ash then violently slammed the man into the ground, knocking the wind out of him, "Now Brody, tell me where I can find the Hoenn champion."

Brody eyed the circling man in panic, "It won't help, Ash. You cont save him!"

Ash whipped around at the mention of his name, "How did you know?" He seethed

"I have my ways." Brody smirked, thinking he know had leverage, "Let me go, or you go public."

Ash growled, "I don't think so, if you so much as think about talking I will break your jaw so bad you wont be able to get it out! Now talk!"

Ash was losing patience, but the patience was gone when he pulled out a Cell phone. Ash's fist lashed out faster than he expected it to, but the crunch sound was so satisfying he didn't care. A gurgled cry confirmed what he thought had happened, Brody wouldn't be much help verbally know.

"Wht te hell!"(Spelling intended) Brody cried as he attempted to cradle his jaw, but every time he touched it erupted into searing pain.

"Will you cooperate, or will your nose suffer the same fate?' Ash said cracking his knuckles.

Brody nodded, resigned to the fact that his face was more important than his job, but he had one problem.

"Mah jw is fckd!" Brody growled and Ash grinned.

"Here" Ash said as he handed him a pen and pad from the desk.

Brody glared at Ash but gave in with a groan. 'Fine, he's on a Team Rocket airship that is hovering about a mile from here off the east coast.'

As Ash read over what Brody had written and couldn't help but comment, "Brody, your handwriting his shit."

Brody glared again, but Ash ignored it, "Thanks mate, Now, give me all forms of communication you have or your nose is gonna become a part of your brain."

Brody once again complied and Ash had at least five devices on him.

"Now then…" Ash round housed Brody in the forehead, causing his body to fly into the wall with a sickening crack.

"Good riddance. Let's go Pi." Ash said, ignoring the now unconscious villain.

"_Sure thing." _Pikachu hopped up on his master's shoulder as he walked out the hospital doors, and hopped on his Charizard.

"To the east, Ruby. And please hurry." Ash said kindly

With a terrifying roar Charizard took off in the required direction, and after no time at all Ash saw a very large, very intimidating floating ship on the horizon.

"_That's big!" _Pikachu observed.

"Yeah, wonder why they didn't hold the tournament there? Its big enough." Ash said sarcastically.

With a grunt of agreement Charizard flew closer, but Ash knew better, "Hey, can you land by that thick patch of trees?"

Charizard nodded and descended down towards said trees. And when he landed Ash thanked him and quietly returned him.  
"_What are we waiting here for?" _Pikachu asked

"Some stupid grunt whose on patrol. We take his uniform and we're in." Ash said.

"_Good plan. Wake me up when you catch one." _Pikachu yawned and began his catnap. It was getting late, and Ash figured the patrols would be coming in and switching with the night ones. So now would be a good time to nab one. And in about 30 minutes Ash was proven right. Two grunts, one male the other female were walking back, with the male having the light.

"Give me a sec to check these trees." The male said.

"Sure thing. Ill be at rendezvous Charlie if you need me." She said and walked away.

Ash smirked and shook awake Pikachu, "Party time, buddy."

Pikachu nodded and went to make a quiet distraction. The little rodent went up to the bush beside the grunt and rolled over a few times, making the bush rustle. To Ash's surprise the grunt pointed an assault rifle at the bush. Pikachu too had noticed the danger, and staggered out, trying to act injured.

"Whoops, hehe, sorry little guy. Thought there was an intruder in these trees…" The rocket was interrupted by Ash

"There is."

But the grunt had no time to identify, because his world slipped into darkness as Ash took the gun from him and slammed to butt of it against the side of his head. As the grunt fell Ash took careful time to hide the body and began to undress. Once he had taken off his clothes he put on the grunt's former attire and began walking to rally point Charlie… or at least what he assumed was.

Luckily for him he saw the girl grunt playing with a rock she found on the ground, as he walked towards her she perked up and walked over to him, "Ready to present to the commander our search summary?" She asked

Ash began to sweat, "Um… want to give me a quick run through?" Ash tried to make his voice sound as much like the grunt's as possible.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Honestly, There was nothing. Just like usual. If you were half asleep I can do the presentation."

"Yeah," Ash said, "That'd be great."

Ash Ketchum was now officially one of the luckiest guys in the world.

As the girl grunt led him through the Rocket base he took not of his surroundings, which wasn't hard.

'_It's all the bloody same!' _He mentally screamed.

Ash was so lost in his reverie that he almost bumped into the girl, who had stopped for something.

"This is it," She gestured to the door, "Ready?"

"Yes." Ash said with false confidence

The girl rapped on the metal door a few times until a grunt clad in _a lot _more armor opened the door, "You guys were almost late. Be more punctual."

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Ash said as he and the girl brushed past the other grunt. The commander was standing next to a large glass window that had a stunning view of the Indigo Plateau.

"How did it go, nothing to report I hope?"

That voice sounded feminine. Then Ash realized how short the commander was, and how long the blond hair was. When she turned around Ash stifled a surprised gasp

'_Looks like Domino finally got promoted'_ Ash chuckled to himself.

'Yes, Ma'am. Barren and intruder free as usual." The girl grunt said with a salute, which Ash copied.

"Very well. For being so successful these past few weeks I am rewarding you with checking up on our unlucky guest. Head to room 855 J."

Ash nearly had a heart attack.

"_I'm not lying!" _Brody's panicked voice clawed at his mind. '_I'll be damned, the guy really wasn't lying.'_

"Yes ma'am!" Both said simultaneously.

The walk to the holding bay was silent, Ash didn't want to strike up conversation and the girl clearly wasn't interested.

'_Maybe this grunt was a total bitch.' _Ash thought, realizing that while he was a ladies man, the grunt whose identity he had stolen clearly was anything but.

Suddenly an explosion shook the ship causing the girl to fall and Ash to catch her. The girl blushed and stayed in his arms for a moment

'_Okay, maybe it's something else' _Ash thought as he looked at the blush '_I might have just fucked over someone's relationship.' _ Ash did feel slightly guilty, but she joined team rocket. That made her scum… right?

Ash stood her up and ran towards the window and saw the Pokémon g-men attacking the ship.

"Fuck!" Ash shouted, not bothering to disguise his voice. He saw Charizard, Lucario and Pikachu holding their own against all the dragons, then Ash gulped when he saw Lance.

'_At least Poet isn't here.' _But his break was cut off when he saw the black Absol pound a rocket into the dirt.

"Fuck!" Ash cussed again and ran down the hallway. Shoving through rockets. Suddenly, a rocket operative went to stop him but he jumped to the wall and kicked off a pipe on the wall. Ash did a 180 and landed in a backpedal. He mock saluted the operative and spun around so he was running full speed towards 855 J. He weaved and smashed his way through many rockets that were heading out to battle, and he was almost there until he was slammed into the wall with such force that the metal dented.

"Shit" Ash gasped as he fell onto all fours.

When he looked up to identify his assailant he was staring into the chest of an intimidating Pseudo legendary.

"Like it punk? Its gonna be the last thing your afraid of." Said a girl voice.

Ash smirked as he looked at the Tyranitar.

"Nice try, but are you ready to play with the big boys?" Ash taunted

"Of course!" Said the voice as the mystery vocalist stepped out of the shadow

"Domino, looks like all it took was what is it, six years to get promoted?" Ash sneered

"I don't care, I got promoted and that's all that matters, wait what?" cried the black tulip, "How do you know me?"

Ash grinned, "My name is Red, but you know me better as As…"

Before Ash could finish another explosion shook the ship, causing Domino to fall over. Ash took the lapse and took off down the hall.

"Stop him!" Domino cried out.

Her shout was complied with a hyper beam but all that did was bust open holding cell 855 J. Ash smirked, "Dumbass."

He looked inside and felt a fist smash into his nose.

"AH what the hell?" Ash cried holding his nose, "I'm on your side!"

"How can I be sure?" The voice of Steven Stone was unmistakable

"Um… because I just busted you out." Ash answered, "Now we need to go, now!"

"Fair enough" Answered the calm Steven.

Ash had taken Steven calm voice and hard hit for a 'he's okay' warrant, but the champion was in a poor state. Suit was torn and he was bruised and favoring one leg. Ash groaned and offered his shoulder, which the champion tool.

"Now, this way!" Ash cried as he started walking, dragging the champion with him.

Just as he rounded a corner, a familiar face met him a little to close for comfort

"Fancy running into you here. Tyranitar hyper beam!" Ash dived to the side, making sure to cushion Steven from the hard impact. The beam scorched his rocket uniform, which he promptly took off.

"Are you a homosexual?" Asked Steven as he observed Ash taking off his shirt and hat

"NO!" Ash shouted, "I have a girlfriend, and the g-men are outside, if they see me in a rocket outfit they'll think I'm trying to smuggle you out."

"Fair enough."

Ash looked at the Tyranitar and saw it charging another hyper beam, and then he looked at its trainer, who was blushing at the shirtless Ash. Ash spun out of the way of the hyper beam and pulled out his coat, which he was about to throw on but a flamethrower from behind completely singed it. The only part that survived was the collar.

Ash spun around to glare at the other Pokémon, then gulped as he saw a glaring Salamence, and the FMJ grunt from earlier.

"Guess he's slightly higher than a grunt." Ash mumbled as backed away from the growling behemoth, only to remember the other growling behemoth behind him. Ash was officially screwed, two pseudo legendaries, one him, one secret he needed to keep.

Suddenly the Tyranitar crumpled and a purple and orange missile shot passed him, taking out the Salamence. The Pokémon inside of the giga impact back flipped its way to stand in from of Ash. Ash however, recognized the Pokémon.

"Poet!" He nearly cried with joy

Then his Lucario gracefully leapt over the groaning pseudo legendary and took up a position facing the downed Tyranitar.

"Noble!" Ash was so happy he was about to cry.

The two pseudo legendaries were returned and replace with new, growling pseudo legendaries.

'_Being Giovanni's high ups sure has perks'_ Ash thought as he observed the two Pokémon.

"_Go master, we have them" _Lucario said as he formed akimbo aura spheres

Ash nodded and picked up the Hoenn champion and put him on his back (Like how Yuri and Price carry Soap or how Price carries MacMillan). Then he began to run as fast as he could, but he took enough time to wink at Domino, who blushed again.

"I though you had a girlfriend?" Steven asked with a chuckle

"Doesn't mean I can't fuck with a desperate Rocket." Ash said with a smirk

"You are an interesting man Red Satoshi, I look forward to getting to know you better." Steven said, before he fell silent

Ash's steps faltered but he caught himself and continued running. Ash soon found the hole that his Pokémon entered through, and then with a wild grin he began to back up.

"Wait… I think I can get off hERE!" Steven's normally calm composure shattered as Ash ran full sprint and leapt out the opening.

Steven had closed his eyes, but when he felt himself moving forward instead of down. And what he saw was the back of a Charizard's head, "Very impressive Mr. Satoshi."

Ash blushed, "I try."

Suddenly electricity arced through Charizard's wing, but not from a Pokémon attack,

"Tazers? Are they for real?" Ash cried ash their altitude began to decrease at an alarming rate. Ash grabbed Steven in a bear hug and leapt off Charizard. Charizard was still conscious as it plummeted, but that changed as soon as it hit the ground.

Ash also smashed into the ground, and he could feel his back literally shatter. His vision went blurry and pain filled every inch of his body but he refused to give in. He had given up once, not now. The Hoenn champion looked okay, nothing new was injured, so Ash had done his job. But then he noticed one of his prized Pokémon in a crumpled heap some distance away from him.

"Charizard!" Ash croaked out, not bothering with that nonsense of nicknames.

Ash tried to stand up, but he fell back to the ground. But he was determined, and through all the pain he forced himself up. Once he had gained his balance he stumbled slowly over to his Pokémon, tears streaming down his face for the first time in years. He crumpled feet from one of his first Pokémon; the darkness began to take control of his vision. But he willed it away once more. He didn't bother to stand up and he crawled so he could check Charizard's vitals. He sighed in relief as he felt a pulse.

Ash then saw some Rocket's taking Steven and handcuffing him. Ash cried out in surprise. After everything it would end like this?

"Not this time!" Ash cried as he pushed him self up and began to run at the rockets.

None of them saw him coming, and he didn't have enough strength to punch, so he just threw his entire body weight into the grunt that was holding Steven. The grunt was taken by surprise and was thrown into a rock, his head whipped against it knocking him out.

Steven looked in shock as he saw the trainer that saved him save him again and again, no matter the agony. Then he realized something.

'_This cant all be for me. He's trying to prove something.' _

But regardless he got the idea and slammed his head into the standing grunt's nose, shattering the cartilage and bringing him to his knees. Steven shoved him to the ground his foot, then directed his attention to the handcuffs. He grabbed the key off the grunt's belt and unlocked the cuffs. As the cuffs fell away his attention became focused on Ash.

"Red!" He cried, "Take my hand!" he said holding his hand out to the trainer whose eyes were slowly losing their light.

The darkness would not leave Ash's vision. It was fighting, and the thing that scared Ash more was that it was winning. He was loosing his will to fight. He saw a pale hand thrust in his direction, and saw the Hoenn Champion saying something, but he couldn't hear. Ash raised his hand towards Steven's and the two clasped hands. The champion pulled him up and the two supported each other as they walked towards the g-men.

"Almost there buddy." Steven said reassuringly, "Just hang on."

Ash didn't register, but the did notice the group of rockets releasing Pokémon. All of his Pokémon were occupied and he doubted Steven had any. He knew what he had to do. But he knew the consequences.

Then the group of Pokémon began to charge attacks, Steven still wasn't noticing. He was to busy trying to shout for the G-men. As the attacks fired Ash shoved Steven as far away as he could (Not far) and put up an aura shield. The two powers collided, both fighting for dominance. But soon Ash's shield began to falter and cracks began to appear. Ash was now resigned to his fate and had all but given up. But then the group of attacking rockets exploded in a cloud of dust. Ash stayed standing, it took everything he had not to fall down, but he knew that if he fell down he was through. But a ray of hope shone through the dark night as Poet and Noble were standing in place of the rockets.

Absol nodded to him and Lucario gave him a thumbs up. But then one of the rockets began to beep.

'_BOMB!' _Ash's mind screamed, but he was to weak to notify his Pokémon. Luckily Absol had seemed to notice it and pushed Lucario away with all of his might. The bombe then exploded, the cloud created engulfed the Eminence and Disaster Pokémon.

'_No' _Ash's own thoughts were now a far away whisper as the only thing he had to live for crumbled away. The last thing he saw was a yellow figure running at full tilt towards him, then nothing.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, kind of a dark chapter, but I'm kind of pleased. I was planning on making it like oh you know 3,000 words but the words kept flowing, and who am I to dam a beautiful waterfall. Tell me what you think. No like really. I see this as my strength rather than Pokémon battles.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Got a lot of support for the last chapter, for that I am extremely thankful. This is a very dramatic chapter, not a lot of action but some thoughts of the characters about Ash's return. But now, the below chapter was tricky to write but I hope I pulled it off. Enjoy…**

* * *

Ash had been seeing a lot of white lately, and frankly he was absolutely tired of it. He couldn't even remember who he was or why he was here. The only thing he remembered was how to talk. Not what he was doing or how he got here, but he assumed it was bad. Suddenly, people in white masks began to crowd his vision. His heart rate shot up, and a corresponding beeping noise increased rapidly in the background.

'_A hospital'_

He tried to open his mouth, tell everyone he was fine. He couldn't feel the pain. In fact, he couldn't feel much of anything. But his mouth refused to respond, and soon his vision faded out and he was enveloped in the warm darkness.

_Scene Change_

All around the world people gasped as they saw clips of the trainer leaping out of a Rocket fortress with Steven Stone. They cringed as they saw the Charizard crash, and the trainer take the impact for the champion. They cheered as they saw the shield the trainer made to save himself and the champion. Then they cheered louder as they saw two of his Pokémon save him from death. But they nearly cried as they saw the true friendship of the black Absol as it pushed its companion (Lucario) out of the way of what became identified as a bomb after the explosion.

It also became publicly noted that the identity of the trainer was Red Satoshi, after all, how many people had a huge Charizard, Lucario and a shiny Absol? However, information was somehow leaked to the news reporters that Red Satoshi might actually be Ash Ketchum…

Ash Ketchum.

The whole world stopped. Every knew the story of the once heroic trainer and were proud that even after everything he had been put through by the world he still had the heart to save the Hoenn champion. But never the less, the world still saw him as a wanted criminal. Ash's trial had been all over the news, and the once popular small town trainer had faded into a story that parents would tell young trainers or a story that would be told around campfires to scare people. The tale about how Ash had murdered his mother, then went and burned himself in 'this very forest'. Ash was seen as one of the worst criminals around, he was up there with Giovanni and Cyrus. Regardless of how many times he stopped their plans Ash's 'crime' was looked upon just as bad.

Cynthia nearly had a heart attack when she saw the headlines. And then the video feed of the crashing Charizard and then Ash defending Steven with his life. The feed was patchy as it was from a Go Pro strapped to a member of the G-men's helmet, but Ash's figure was clearly identifiable. Although she knew what really happened, the world population was torn.

Many wanted to believe that Ash had come back and was now on the legal side of the law. But logic told them that no one would run away from the law only to help it in the end. And yet he had just saved Steven Stone from Team Rocket. Aspirin companies were making serious bank.

Word on the street was that Ash was in a coma, and no one, not even the police, were allowed to see him as it might endanger the outcome of his surgery. His state was critical, as was that of many of his Pokémon. Only Pikachu and Lucario were awake, his Absol and Charizard were also under intensive care. Even though Ash/Red was scheduled to appear in the finals in just one week, no one knew how long his coma would last.

And also, Red's reputation was in tatters. The overnight sensation was now an overnight nightmare. Once people found out he was Ash the Red merchandise dropped off the market. The sunglasses were now found in trash bins and his trademark red and black vest could now only be found in the back of closets.

This led for many to believe how Ash Ketchum was discovered. Well, according to sources a man by the name of Harold Scott (Brodie in disguise) said that Ash Ketchum had beaten him in order to get the location of Steven Stone's hospital room. When asked how he knew it was Ash he said that the mystery man had told him. Probably not expecting him to survive the vicious beating.

Cynthia was ready to cry, Ash was in a coma and she would win the tournament by default. Although she wanted to win, she did not want to win like that.

Also, his Pokémon worried the blonde champion as well. She had grown close to quite a few of them. Lucario and Poet she saw nearly on the daily, and everyone was friends with Pikachu.

After watching the news report for about the hundredth time she turned off the television and cried into her hotel pillow. She let all the emotions out. All the emotions that had threatened to burst out when she had first seen the report in the Pokémon center that morning. The shocked and angry looks on people's faces were something that was forever imprinted in her mind. Even after he saved the Hoenn champion from certain death they still despised the young man. How could they hate someone who had done so much good in his short life? It was there that Cynthia resigned herself to the task of repairing Ash's tarnished public image.

A few short raps on the door interrupted her breakdown, and her head snapped towards the door. She stood up slowly and dried her eyes as best as she could, then she took a few deep breaths to calm herself and strode to the door.

Behind the door stood a group of people, all as worried for Ash and the Sinnoh champion as the Sinnoh champion was worried about Ash.

"Think that really was Ash?" Whispered Max

Brock nodded, "Undoubtedly, that's something so dangerous and stupidly brave only Ash would do."

"Shhh!" May hissed, "I think someone's coming."

True enough, the door opened and revealed the Sinnoh champion. The group gasped as they saw her bloodshot eyes and puffy cheeks. Without a word, Dawn walked up and pulled Cynthia into a hug. They held each other for a moment, both mentally weeping for Ash, his Pokémon, and each other. Once they broke apart May followed suit, then Misty.

Although Brock and Max felt it was their place to comfort her, they didn't think a hug was the solution. So with some comforting words and a pat on the back the group entered the hotel room and closed the door tightly behind them.

Inside the room the bed was a mess, and all of her pokeballs lay sprawled out on the desk. The TV buzzed, indicating only the cable had been turned off. Brock eyed the Sinnoh champion for a moment, then sat down beside her on the bed.

"Can you tell us about your relationship with Ash?" He asked as gently as he could.

Even though she was an emotional mess, she felt obligated to notify Ash's friends of the chemistry between them.

"Me and Ash are a couple," She ignored the gasps and continued, "We went on our first date while he was still Red, but he believed he could trust me enough. And he told me his full story and the truth behind who he was."

"I think I can see what happens next" Max quietly added, earning him a smack from May

"Don't interrupt!"

Cynthia didn't look bothered; she was too lost in her own thoughts. After a minute of her gazing at the not so interesting wall the group realized she wouldn't start talking anytime soon.

"Hey…um, Cynthia? Is it possible for you to tell us what happened?" Dawn asked softly, trying to shake the champion from her reverie

Cynthia stopped staring and slowly nodded, "Well, he said I took it well. I guess I did given the fact that I didn't run, shout or kick him. I guess if I had gotten over my shock quicker I might have done so, but our relationship has held strong so far. And although it was kept on the down low, Ash still found time to take us on dates or have us go for a fly."

"On what? Charizard?" Asked May, earning her a smack from a smirking Max

"Don't interrupt!"

Cynthia slightly grinned, "Better"

Brock looked puzzled, "Other than Charizard Ash has no other large flying types that he showed off to us. Charizard also seems to be his smoothest and fastest flyer. What could be better than that?"

"While Charizard is the best normal flying Pokémon Ash has, Latios and Latias are much better."

Silence was all that followed… but not for long

"WHAT?" Brock and Misty shouted

"How?" Misty gasped

"We saw Latios's death, and Latias's withdrawal!" Brock added, equally surprised.

"I can't answer those questions, but I _can_ tell you that he has, in his possession, a living Latios and a peppy Latias, but he refuses to use them in the tournament." Cynthia explained

"But that would give him a huge advantage," Max said, "Two legendaries are tough to defeat if Tobias was anything to go by."

"Precisely." Cynthia said, "An unfair advantage as Ash sees it. He wanted his run at the master's league to be legit. His normal Pokémon worked tirelessly to get to where they are now, and if their time and effort was upstaged by a naturally strong Pokémon they would refuse to train as hard. And would slack off. Although it would benefit Ash, it would also hurt him more than you could imagine."

"Why's that?" Asked Dawn

"I've come to the conclusion that Ash did not enter this competition for fun. He entered it because some where in that cold and powerful exterior is a dreamer like the true Ash. That dreamer has clutched Ash's former dream of being a Pokémon master for all this time. Now, after being deported to rot in prison Ash feels like he has let every one of his Pokémon down. So what better way to redeem himself than to become the best." Cynthia explained

"I see," May said, "So he wants redemption for his past in hiding?"

"Exactly" Cynthia nodded

"I wonder what happened while he was away. I mean, he clearly wasn't active so what could he have done? And where could he have been?" Max asked.

Cynthia shrugged, "There is only one way to find out. And that's through Ash."

"Does that mean we are going to the hospital?" Asked Dawn.

"Yeah, we also need to get their as quickly as possible, in case Ash wakes up." Brock advised.

"I'll meet you at the hospital, there is something I need to do." Cynthia said.

"Sure, let's go guys." May said without thinking, and then proceeded to walk out the door

Brock and Max raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off and followed regardless

The door shut soundlessly behind the group Cynthia sighed. She was extremely stressed. She was going into the finals of the competition against her boyfriend, who was in a coma, as were a few of his Pokémon. There was one week before the finals, and although Cynthia thought Ash could pull out of the coma, she was unsure about his ability to battle. She knew she would have a huge advantage over the exiled trainer. She wanted to win, almost more than anything. But if she thought about it, while she had the most to lose, Ash had trained in solitude for many years. He had done unspeakable deeds and saved worlds just to get to where he is now, and all of his dedication was for nothing. Team Rocket ripped his dreams away from him; everything he went through made him second best.

Second best. The pair of words hurt more than a pair of bullets. She knew Ash deserved the title more than she did, and she also knew Ash would beat her in the finals if he was at full capacity. She almost didn't have the heart to beat Ash, but her pride and reputation was on the line. She had no choice.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Tell me what you thought, but now… How old did I say Ash was? I completely forgot. Kinda slipped my mind. Bet your wondering how Ash will get over his Amnesia in time for the finals, but truthfully I have no idea! It will come to me though, but until then, stay thirsty my friends!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:**

**Alright, I'm replacing the Author's note chapter. I don't want to have any of those disgracing my story when I complete it. So then, behold the ultimate filler chapter. No really, this is just a filler, it has almost no purpose in its wretched life.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I do not own Pokemon... :(**

* * *

Ash was finally allowed out of the hospital, but there was one problem that he was oblivious to. The Finals match was in one day, and Ash still had no idea who he was.

_"Hey Ash?" _Pikachu asked, _"What's wrong? You seem out of it?"_

"So you're a Pikachu right?" Ash responded, completely ignoring Pikachu's question, "Who's Ash?"

Pikachu was getting worried, _"Ash, this has been going on for close to a week. It really isn't funny anymore"_

"What are you talking about?" Ash was now genuinely confused, "Funny?"

Before Pikachu had a chance to respond a voice called out to Ash.

_'Oh boy!' _Thought Pikachu as he saw Cynthia run up and give Ash a hug

"You're alright!" Cried the champion, "Never do that again! Steven can die for all I care! As long as you stay safe"

"I can what?" A new voice questioned

"Uh… Hi Steven… It was Pikachu!" Cynthia responded meekly, pointing at the mouse.

"Pi?"

"How are you Ash, Its been a long time. Are you fully recovered?" Asked the Hoenn Champion.

"I'm fine, but why wouldn't I be?" Ash asked, "And have I met you before?"

Steven looked a little worried, "Ash, do you know your name?"

"No"

"What's your girlfriend's name?"

"How did you know!?"

"I have a girlfriend?"

"Who was your starter?"

"Starter?"

Steven sighed, "Seems like Ash has amnesia, and bad. It's strange the doctors didn't diagnose it during their check ups but that doesn't matter now."

Cynthia gasped, "But… the Final. What will happen?"

"You'll win by default.I'm sorry Cynthia." Steven apologized, trying to console his fellow champion

"It's alright" Cynthia sighed dejectedly, "Ill tell Mr. Goodshow."

"Hey, uh Cynthia is it? Think you could tell me what's wrong with me?" Ash nearly pleaded, clearly wanting to understand what was happening around him.

Cynthia looked unsure, but upon a reassuring nod from Steven she nodded to Ash, "Sure Ash, I'll help you."

"Thanks!"

"But lets meet up with your Pokémon first." She suggested

"There are others?" Ash asked

Cynthia nodded in affirmative, "Yeah, you've got a lot of them. And all are equally powerful."

With that statement the pair began their trek to Ash's hotel room. Well your probably thinking about Steven…

"Hey!" Cried the indignant former Hoenn champion, "That's not cool!"

After receiving no response he simply turned away

"Fine, I had things to do anyway!" He huffed.

_Scene Change_

"So these are my Pokémon?" Ash couldn't help but ask as he eyed the powerful and intimidating group.

Cynthia nodded, "Yep, now tell me what species they are."

Ash nodded, "Umm okay… That one's Pikachu"

Ash pointed at the mouse

"That's a Lucario"

He said pointing to Lucario

"That's an Absol"

He was now pointing to Poet

"That's a Charizard-"

"Noble! Don't help him!" Cynthia scolded

Lucario had the decency to give her a sheepish glance, then he shrugged at his confused trainer.

Ash's brow was now furrowed as he eyed the rest of his Pokémon carefully, "I don't know."

His Pokémon gasped in hurt, causing Cynthia to flinch

"Okay guys, I should probably explain what happened to your trainer. Ash has amnesia, like, really bad. He doesn't even remember what species _he_ is. I'm sorry I cant stay longer but I have some business I need to attend to, I'm hoping you guys can help him out for me." The champion explained

Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's head and pounded his chest with a smirk. Which Cynthia took as a, 'We got this!'

"See you guys. Bye Ash." She said with a wave before walking out

"Hey Pikachu?" Ash asked

_"Yeah, Ash."_

"Is Cynthia my girlfriend?"

_"Lucario, he's all yours!" _ Pikachu said, spinning around and padding away.

"Wha?"

Ash looked at Lucario, almost pleadingly, "So you can help me?"

Lucario nodded, "I can try. No guarantees."

"That's all I can ask."

_"Maybe we should keep him like this" _Absol whispered to Sceptile, _"He's much nicer"_

Sceptile chuckled, as did a few of the Pokémon who had overheard their quiet conversation.

"Okay Ash, I'm going to give you your pokedex. Know what that is?" Lucario asked in an attempt to begin his not so well thought out plan to get Ash back to normal

"Uh…" Ash began, raising everyone's hopes, "No"

"Oh." Lucario sighed crestfallenly, "Well it's a device that has information about all the known Pokémon. It's also your trainer ID."

"You mean it will tell me who I am?" He asked excitedly

"Yep." Lucario nodded, handing him the small red device (His one from Unova)

Dexter quickly rang off all of the information about Ash that had been loaded onto his system. As well as all of the Pokémon he has captured, and the order that they were caught in.

"So my name is Ash Ketchum, huh? And my starter was a Pikachu. Hang on, I thought the Kanto starters were Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur?" Ash asked, confused by his latest revelation.

But his latest inquiry caused all of his Pokémon to smile, and this caused Ash to become slightly unnerved.

"What are you grinning at?" He questioned self-consciously

"You knew who the three Kanto starters are, and that you're from Kanto!" Pikachu said with a grin

"So?" Ash asked, still not seeing where this was heading

"We didn't tell you that!" Lucario said happily, and then when no one was looking he exhaled a sigh of relief. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he originally thought.

Ash grinned, "That's good, right? Now let's get down to business!"

_Time Skip_

"So you're telling me that I am debatably one of the top trainers in the world right now. That I have two legendary Pokémon, which are super rare right? And that I have made it all the way to the finals in a tournament held to see who gets the honors to compete in the Pokémon Master's league? And that I have an alias known as Red Satoshi because my friend's parents accused me of murder, and I went into years of self induced exile, which included faking my death. Over the course of my 'exile' I took down criminal organizations, defeated former champions and got laid." Ash summarized

"Well, that's about right, but… I think we need to go more in depth about your former girlfriend" Lucario said with a sigh

_Time Skip… Again_

"How's that?" Asked Lucario once he had finally finished his explanation of Sapphire, which he went into great detail to see if he could bring up some old memories.

"That was nice," Ash complimented like nothing happened, "But I do have one question."

"Go on." Lucario prompted

"Why do I have such a dark and depressing past?"

Lucario shrugged, "I don't really know, trouble seems to like you."

"I've noticed" Ash chuckled with a sweat drop, "So how am I going to battle tomorrow? I have no idea how."

"How about we have a practice battle here and see how you do?" Lucario suggested, "If you perform adequately we'll think about letting you compete."

Ash grinned in happiness at Lucario's statement, but one conjunction whipped the smile off his face

"But if you fail to perform to our standards, you will be forced to forfeit the match. And your life will become instantly more complicated."

Ash considered this for a moment before smirking, "Deal!"

Ash lined up on one side of a practice field with Lucario in front of him, and Pikachu on the opposite side.

"Ready, Pi? I won't go easy!" Ash joked

This caused Pikachu to smile; they were already beginning to get Ash's memory back. He just hoped a battle like this would be able to bring Ash's memory back. But this was a true test for Ash. If he completely embarrassed himself in this practice battle then they would not let him fight in the finals, but on the other hand. If he preformed decently then the Pokémon saw no reason to keep him under house arrest.

"Okay Lucario, I'm going to scan you with my pokedex to see what moves you know okay?" Ash asked, although he had already commenced the scan without waiting for a response.

"At least he's using his head." Lucario whispered to Pikachu

_"Amen!" _Pikachu laughed,_ "I don't think I could deal with another ten year old Ash"_

"Ready Pi?" Ash asked, but he didn't wait for a response to order an attack, "Okay, Lucario use aura sphere!"

Lucario complied and fired his white sphere of aura at the yellow Pokémon, who dodged with blinding speed,

"Wow!" Ash said in awe as the yellow Pokémon deftly dodged the massive explosion, "Now I can see why I am a top trainer, I have strong Pokémon!"

Lucario sweat dropped at this latest comment, _'Okay, this is way too OOC. Author, just give his memory back!'_

"Lucario, try a force palm." Ash called

Lucario sprinted at Pikachu with white energy building in the palm of his left hand. When he thrust his paw and released the energy, however, Pikachu was already skyward. Leaving a poor tree to bear the brunt of the attack. Regardless of this Ash's face now bore a smirk.

"Now use close combat!" He ordered triumphantly

Lucario nodded with a smile, and leapt up to meet Pikachu in the air. But Pikachu was prepared. He knew he had no chance to dodge the attack in the air, but he was an electric type. So as soon as Lucario laid the slightest fur on Pikachu he would be in a world of hurt. And that's exactly what happened.

Lucario cried in pain as the electric voltage sent his nervous system into to shock. The force behind the now concentrated attack propelled Lucario away from Pikachu and into the ground.

"Lucario!" Ash called worriedly, "Can you stand?"

Lucario answered the question with a graceful leap that took him out of his little crater and planted him in front of his trainer.

"Of course! Your training hurts a lot more than that little battery." Lucario said, gesturing to Pikachu

_"Hey!" _Came the indignant response from the now grounded rodent, _"Let me battle for real and this little battery is gonna give you a real shock!"_

Ash smiled at his Pokémon, proud that he was the owner and apparently the creator of such chemistry.

"So Ash, are you really planning on going through with this battle?"Lucario asked, his attention now on Ash, "If you mess this up your reputation will be ruined."

Ash nodded, "I think so. I mean; I owe Cynthia this battle. Supposedly me and her were some of the top seeds in the tournament…"

"Well not initially," Lucario interrupted, "It wasn't until you beat Lance that you were taken as actual competition."

"Right, sorry," Ash apologized, "So as far as I can tell Cynthia really wants to battle me, and I feel obligated to give her that battle. Regardless if I can remember why or what to do."

Lucario grinned at the Pallet amnesiac, "Even though you can't remember who you are you still act the same as you did."

"And that's a good thing, right?" Ash asked apprehensively

Lucario nodded in the affirmative, "Let's go, your battle is tomorrow. You should pick out your Pokémon."

"Are you sure? I mean I don't know what to do? What if…"

"Enough!" Lucario interrupted Ash's blabbering, "Now, you know your Pokémon and we'll look up Cynthia's team in the lobby. You'll be fine!"

"If you say so."

"I know so"

* * *

**A/N:**

**Alright. So Ash is still going on with the battle. Errors? Point them out in a review. Suggestions? Point them out in a review. Anything? Review**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:**

**Alright guys, I know it doesn't seem like it, but the story is drawing to a close. The ending is going to be sudden, and I'll explain why in the final chapter. But now, you want to see whats going on next, so enjoy. NOTICE! If you skipped right to this chapter then go read the previous chapter, the one that used to be an author's note (CHapter 17) Its now a full chapter**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon**

* * *

Ash had woken up early that morning, he had already chosen his Pokémon, but they were not chosen based on type. Because of his inability to battle at his best he had gone with his most battle hardened Pokémon. And some of them weren't his oldest. This had been Lucario's idea, this way even if Ash couldn't put up a viable fight; his Pokémon could hopefully back him enough where he would put up decent resistance.

Ash had gotten ready quickly, he didn't know why, he just did. All of his troubled thoughts were focused on his upcoming battle against a champion. Even though his Pokémon continue to reassure him that it would all be fine, he couldn't help but feel the anxiety. After he had finished his shower he decided to have another talk with Lucario. The conversation consisted of many different battle techniques Ash would end up using against the Sinnoh champion. They had already gone over it hundreds of times, but Ash was determined to try and remember who he was before the battle.

But crunch time came, and his past was still a big blur. He didn't let this deter him, in the locker room, 20 minutes before his match; he called out all of his Pokémon.

"Listen guys," Ash said to his six chosen, "There will be no names, just you and me alright? I want you guys not to wait for a command from me if I don't give one on time. You have all fought against the best, and I want to culminate all of your past knowledge into a strategy to beat whoever you are facing. Don't let me slow you down."

All his Pokémon nodded, but before they were returned to their pokeballs Ash had one more thing to say,

"Oh yeah, and guys, one more thing."

He now had all of his Pokémon's attention

"Don't give up."

All his Pokémon let out their respective cries, nearly shattering Ash's eardrums. But this didn't deter Ash, all it did was encourage the adrenalin pumping through his system.

He then returned his chosen elites, and waited quietly for the announcer to call him in. He didn't have to wait long. Soon the announcer's shout was thundering throughout every inch of the Indigo Plateau.

"He fought through the preliminaries without even breaking a sweat, he trashed experienced foes like they were first timers. He showed Lance the true meaning of power, and demonstrated to Paul Shinji what it means to be a trainer! This young man has his sights set on the very top and nothing is gonna make him back down! Ladies and gentlemen please welcome. Ash. Ketchum!"

Ash's eyes slightly widened at the announcer calling him by his true name, but he didn't care. And the fans didn't seem to care either, they cheered just as loud as they did for Red if not louder. Ash pushed aside any nervousness and strode out calmly onto the stage. Now out of the tunnel, the crowd's cheers and shouts hit him full force, and he allowed himself to be absorbed into them. He waved to the crowd with mute determination. The crowd loved it.

Then the lights dimmed, and the announcer's voice silenced the screaming fans,

"At the age of 15 she conquered the best Sinnoh had to offer and went on to challenge the region's elite four. She bested the four most powerful trainers and brought the former champion's reign of power to an end. Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the youngest champion in history. Cynthia. Shirona!"

Now not even the announcer could contain the once shushed crowd. The stand exploded into cheers, shouts and whistles. Cynthia then appeared on her side of the field, her black coat fluttering in the non-existent breeze. The Sinnoh champion strode elegantly to her side of the field, all the while waving to the ballistic crowd. Only when she stood confidently in her box did all the lights come on. The battle field they were battling on was the standard dirt field, meaning it would come down to a battle of trainer wits and Pokémon power.

The ref too, stepped up to his own podium,

"This will be a full six on six match between Champion Cynthia and Ash of… uh… where _are _you from?"

Ash grinned, "I'm still from Ruby Isle."

"Right," The ref nodded, "And Ash of Ruby Isle. The same rules as previous six on six battles apply here. Trainers ready?"

Ash and Cynthia both nodded

"Begin!"

Cynthia took the first move, trying to give the amnesiac actor Ash an advantage

"Gastrodon, battle dance!"

From her ball came the sea slug of Sinnoh, looking deceptively weak.

Ash grinned, "Sceptile, I choose you!"

When Ash's Hoenn starter appeared he appeared on one knee, staring down at his opponent. When he sized up his opponent he placed a twig in his mouth, and stood up to his full height.

Cynthia took the first move

"Gastrodon, muddy water!"

Gastrodon let out an unearthly cry as brown water appeared in a cyclone around it. Once the cyclone had become Gastrodon's desired size, the water-based attack began to move toward Sceptile.

"Ride the current, but don't let your head go under." Ash ordered, this was a strategy he and Lucario had gone over.

"What are you planning?" Cynthia wondered, "Break the wave, then hyper beam!"

Ash growled as her command was executed flawlessly, leaving Sceptile wide open to take the hyper beam. But Ash had chosen Sceptile for a reason.

His grass Pokémon leaned to the right, allowing for the attack to glance off his shoulder. The force behind the attack sent his spinning at quite a speed, but the damage had been blunted. Once Sceptile had regained his bearings, Ash ordered his next move,

"Use quick attack!" Ash ordered, waiting to see what his Pokémon did

Cynthia quickly ordered for a mud bomb to be shot at the ground in front of Gastrodon, in hopes to hide Gastrodon from Sceptile. But the grass type had gone around the attack, and appeared behind Gastrodon

"Leaf blade!" Ash called

Sceptile's glowing forearm crashed into Gastrodon with super effective fury, sending the Sinnoh Pokémon reeling across the battlefield.

"Don't give it a chance to recover! Ariel ace!" Ash called

But Cynthia was prepared

"Muddy water into Stone edge!" She called

Gastrodon once again released the muddy cyclone, nullifying the Ariel Ace, and leaving Sceptile open to a stone edge. Sceptile didn't blunt the attack.

The Hoenn starter crashed into the battlefield, but he was up in an instant.

"Good job" Ash complimented, "Charge in with Ariel Ace once more."

Cynthia wasn't about to block the same way twice, "Use sludge bomb all around you!"  
Gastrodon began spinning as fast as she could, launching toxic orbs as she went.

Ash didn't see the point of her strategy until the dual type became shrouded in a purpled haze.

"Use Frenzy Plant to decimate everything in the cloud!" Ash ordered, feeling confident about this one.

But when the thick vines cleaved through the haze, no target cried in pain, or was flung free of the purple shield. Ash's mind suddenly flared in pain, causing him to hunch over

_"Beware of dig. It is a powerful move that can be used to dodge!" _ Said a voice not from Cynthia or one of his Pokémon, it sounded… familiar.

"Sceptile, jump into the air, send your vines into the battle field!" Ash called

Cynthia raised an eyebrow; Ash must be regaining his knowledge.

Sceptile let out a loud cry and leapt as high as he could, just as Gastrodon surfaced where Sceptile had stood moments prior. Gastrodon had no way to protect herself from the assault of vicious vines that pounded her into the dirt.

"What an evasion from Sceptile, can Gastrodon recover?"

Gastrodon growled as she made her way to her full height, glaring at the grass type.

"Hit him hard with stone edge followed with hyper beam!" Cynthia called, "Finish this."  
Gastrodon growled as she flung her onslaught at the immobile Sceptile. The grass type willed every muscle in his body to move, but couldn't.  
"Sceptile, can you move?"

Suddenly, his mind flared in pain again

_"Remember, the three ultimate moves require a rest period after their use, only use them if it's a sure finish." _Said a different voice from the previous one.

"Its alright Sceptile, you did your best." Ash said sadly to his eliminated grass Pokémon.

"And Ash is the first to suffer, looks like his early win streak has come to an end!" The announcer called, "Who will Ash send out next?"

"Absol, I need your assistance!"

Ash's shiny Absol appeared in a flash of hate and power. The shiny Pokémon glared at his opponent, succeeding in intimidating her.

"Absol, use razor wind, then finish her with Giga impact!" Ash ordered

"Gastrodon, ride the explosion to get into the air, then use stone edge!" Cynthia ordered

As soon as the razor wind struck the ground where Gastrodon had been, the dual type rode the explosion into the air. Giving the ground type flying attributes.

Before Gastrodon could fire the stone edge however, Absol crashed into her with the Giga impact. The force of the attack propelled her higher into the sky. Absol landed gracefully, and watched Gastrodon plummet with a proud smirk on his face.

"Gastrodon is unable to continue, Absol is the winner!" The announcer called once Gastrodon landed, and the result was clear.

"Milotic, Battle Dance!" Cynthia called.

From her ball appeared the beautiful water Pokémon from the Hoenn region, But Absol looked at her with contempt. As if saying, 'You're going down, hard.'

"Water pulse!" Cynthia ordered

The blue orb crashed into the dirt, sending a wave of rushing water toward Absol.

"Absol, freeze it with ice beam, the send the shards back with Razor wind!" Ash called

"Melt those shards with Scald!"

The frozen shards met scalding water, both cancelling out.

Ash's mind flared for the third time that day

_"Water conducts electricity. If a water attack is connected to a Pokémon then if the electric attack strikes the water attack the Pokémon firing the water attack will be caught in collateral damage"_

"Absol, use Rain Dance." Ash ordered with a grin

"Milotic, use that to your advantage, use hydro pump!" Cynthia ordered

Absol took the hit, but it was a powerful hit. The force behind the jet of water propelled Absol into the stadium wall. Absol groaned in pain and shook himself free, standing proudly as the rain began to pour down.

"Now, use Water pulse once more! Then power it up with Hydro pump!" Cynthia ordered

The water Pokémon executed the combination with flawless perfection. And now a wave of extreme size and power was on a collision course with Absol, being fueled by a connected Hydro Pump.

Ash grinned, "Tear that wave apart with Thunder!"

"No!" Cynthia cried, "Milotic cut off the attack!"

Milotic tried to do it in time, but before she had the chance thousands of volts began to course through her system. She screamed in pain, but the attack continued. And once the attack ceased, Milotic was a struggling heap on the dirt.

"Milotic, if you can, heal yourself with aqua ring." Cynthia advised

For a few seconds nothing happened, but eventually the light blue aura that signified aqua ring surrounded Milotic, restoring lost energy.

"Absol finish her quickly!" Ash calleded, "Giga Impact!"

"Dodge and use hydro pump!"

Using her serpentine body, Milotic gracefully evaded the attack by squirming under Absol. Where she fired the water attack at the Disaster Pokémon's unprotected underside, propelling him skyward.

"Don't let that deter you, use you downward momentum for Iron Tail!" Ash called out

"Milotic, Iron tail as well" Cynthia said, "Stop him in his tracks!"

Both steel type moves collided, both sparking from the collision but neither giving way. The fighting Pokémon then cried out in exertion as the competing forces exploded, shrouding the field in dust. Ash however, saw Absol thrust out of the smoke and land in a heap in front of him. Ash knew he was done, but what about Milotic?

The ref cleared things up for him, "Milotic and Absol are both unable to battle; this ties the match!"

The crowd roared, but Cynthia began feeling overwhelmed. Ash was keeping pace with her even without his memory, and seeing as he was quickly regaining it, she worried he would get ahead. She vowed to pull out before the break.

"Garchomp, Battle dance!"

"Charizard, take the field!"

Both powerhouses roared, showing their power. When they caught each other's gaze both tensed, preparing for the showdown of a lifetime.

"Garchomp, begin with stone edge!"

"Counter with flamethrower!"  
Rock and flame met in the middle, crashing into each other in a desperate battle for supremacy. But both attacks cancelled, signaling even power, meaning this battle would be decided by the trainers. This worried Charizard.

"Charizard, attack with flare blitz!" Ash ordered

"Garchomp earth power, then Dragon rush!"

Ash new he was screwed when the pillar of power erupted under Charizard, throwing him off course and weakening his flare blitz. But when Garchomp obliterated Charizard with his Dragon rush Ash knew he had screwed up.

Charizard was flung back, feeling the sting of the powerful attack.

"Garchomp Draco Meteor!" Cynthia called out

Ash felt his mind explode in pain once more,

_"There is one weakness to Draco Meteor, and that's its range. If one can get above the max altitude of the attack then it will nullify the most powerful dragon move"_

"Charizard into the air!" Ash ordered, "Get above that sphere!"  
Cynthia gasped, how could he get above the sphere?

Charizard roared as he shot up into the air. It was now a race to see who could get higher. But because of Ash's little relapse it seemed Charizard wouldn't get above the sphere, and this caused Ash's mind to erupt once again

_"A dragon type's power is also a weakness to Draco Meteor, the more powerful the dragon type is, the higher the orb will soar."_

"Charizard you still have a shot!" Ash encouraged, "Give it everything!"

Charizard was now an orange blur as he rose at incredible speeds, and it soon became apparent he was catching the orange orb.

_'NO!' _Cynthia thought through clenched teeth as she watched the distance close, _'He's going to do it!'_

"Charizard speeds upward, can he get above the dragon attack?" The announcer shouted, sounding like he was about to wet his pants in anticipation, as was most of the crowd

Charizard was now even with the sphere, but the air was getting thin, and the lack of oxygen was slowing Charizard.

Back on the field, the stadium had lost sight of the race to the heavens. And the only indication they got that the race had ended was when a meteor struck the field, then more. But no Charizard came crashing down.

_'He did it!' _Ash grinned

_'I told you so didn't I?' _Said that same voice

Ash looked around wildly, but saw nobody. With the hail of meteors beginning to thin, the world was beginning to wonder where Charizard was. But then, as the final meteor streaked to earth, he got hhis answer. It looked larger than any previous ones, and it was also on a collision course with Garchomp. It didn't take Cynthia long to figure out what it was.

"Meet Charizard with your most powerful Dragon rush!"

Garchomp roared and shot towards the blue Charizard. Both Pokémon crashed into each other, fighting for dominance. But it seemed like the flight had really taken it out of Charizard, for he was faltering.

"A little more Charizard, almost there!" Ash called to his Pokémon.

Charizard roared and began to push Garchomp back, leaving Cynthia and the crowd in shock.

_'No one has ever overpowered Garchomp!' _Cynthia thought in panic

"Come on Garchomp, fight back!"

But the momentum had turned, and soon Charizard had smashed Garchomp into the earth with devastation consequences. The resulting explosion shook the stadium to its roots, but no single Pokémon flew out of the smoke victorious. This puzzled Ash, as he figured Charzard had won the power struggle. Once the smoke cleared, Charizard was revealed to be down, but Garchomp was on her feet, looking tired and beaten to a pulp, but proud nonetheless.

Ash gasped in shock as his fire Pokémon was revealed to be out.

_'How? Ash thought in shock, I thought Charizard won that fight?"_

The announcer couldn't comprehend it either, "And in a surprising turn of events it's Charizard down and Garchomp up, what could possibly have happened?"

Ash returned Charizard with thanks and turned on his heel, walking swiftly towards his locker room.

Once there he called out his remaining Pokémon, and outlined the problem

"Cynthia has eliminated Charizard, Sceptile and Absol with two of her three weakest Pokémon. I hope you are ready, because its gonna be rough. Get yourselves psyched until I call you back into your balls, cause then its battle time."

As his Pokémon set about doing their given task, Ash focused on trying to remember his past. He knew he had been put in a rough situation, but he was only losing by one. He could still pull this off, even without his memory.

With this newfound confidence Ash closed his eyes, visualizing how he would react to certain situations. The locker room stayed silent until the horn sounded, indicating that their time was up. Ash returned his Pokémon without a word and walked out onto the field. The crowd was cheering for Cynthia, who had appeared before him, but when he strode out the crowd began chanting his name. Ash basked in the limelight for a moment, then he turned his determined gaze toward Cynthia. The two combatants said nothing, just reached for a pokeball simultaneously.

"Battle Dance!"

"Set the field alight in your blaze of glory!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**Guesses on Ash's next Pokemon? I already know what it is, but the question is do you? Tell me how I did. The review button is waiting**


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